Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How
by Arthur97
Summary: Join a tactician and princess to hopefully answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, and how in regards to their against the odds romance. Second remaster story.
1. Chapter 1

It had been a strange day for Robin. First, he woke up in a field with next to no memories and was picked up by an odd assortment of "shepherds." Then he fought off a band of brigands in a town, which may have been one of the most normal parts of his day, and during the battle he discovered that he had an amazing talent for tactics. Even their meal had been unusual in the form of bear of all things.

However, the strangest thing to happen had to be the odd monstrosities falling from the sky along with fire and brimstone. Robin was beginning to wonder if he was cursed or something as he fired a thunder spell at one of them. He had to admit that these things were resilient, as his target shrugged off his attack and kept coming for him.

Unfortunately, he lacked the time to cast again or draw his blade. Fortunately, he did not have to as the creature ended up bisected by a masked individual before said individual darted off to finish off the rest of them. Robin absently wondered if things could get any stranger as he ran to rejoin his new allies.

* * *

"Is that the last of them?" Chrom asked as Robin caught his breath. That last one was big! How was Chrom acting so calm about all of this?

"It would appear so milord," The large knight, Frederick, answered, "It would seem that this lad took care of the rest."

"I don't think I got your name," Chrom offered his hand which the mysterious individual just stared at, probably, before replying.

"You may call me Marth," The stranger spoke after deciding to pass on the handshake.

"Oh, like the hero-king of old? Well you certainly fight like a hero."

Robin was starting to notice that something was off about this "Marth." For one, whenever he spoke it just seemed like he was trying way too hard to hide something; his voice sounded forced. Also, his posture was way too rigid to be natural, again, like it was forced. Not to mention that mask seemed like one of the most impractical things to wear into combat. It had to have seriously impaired vision.

The more he thought about it, the more Robin started to distrust this newcomer. Not to mention how bizarre what he was saying was. Unfortunately, Chrom did not seem quite so keen on noticing these things and was apparently trusting to a fault. Not that he should complain since that was likely the only reason he was not left to fend for himself or hauled away in chains. Still, he would keep an eye on this person should he ever show himself again in any case. Maybe their paths would not cross again, but somehow Robin doubted that it would be so simple. Especially if the rest of the day were any indication.

* * *

Lucina stopped to breathe after determining that she had put enough distance between herself and her father. She took her mask off almost as soon as she stopped because, truth be told, she hated that thing. It was dreadfully uncomfortable and severely obstructed her vision.

However, even with limited vision, seeing her father again was quite the experience. No amount of preparation could have braced her for the shock of seeing him, but she thought she held up rather well considering the circumstances.

Chrom was not the only familiar face though. Seeing her aunt and sir Frederick delighted her too. In Frederick's case it had been many years since she had last seen the loyal knight, and it just renewed her determination to make sure that they survive the coming events.

Which brought her thoughts to Robin. Her father's best friend and the prime candidate for being his murderer as well. Robin was around a lot in her early years and he always seemed to genuinely care about her parents and the Shepherds which made it harder for her to reconcile him to the role of murderer. Of course, she was but a child, and she only knew him as a child could.

In any case, she would have to be careful in handling the tactician. For one, she had no definitive proof that he was guilty. Robin was also instrumental in winning the two wars to come so eliminating him early could cause other problems. Plus, she just really did not want to harm the man if she could avoid it. Hopefully she could prevent such a predicament from ever arising by changing things now.

With renewed vigor she redawned her mask and made her way to her next destination to save the future. Maybe along the way she would even learn who the tactician really was.

 **A/N: And on behest of a friend, here is the next remaster!**


	2. Chapter 2

Robin did a final check of his gear as they waited for the call to enter the arena. While he really was not sure why they did not just go to the West Khan, he supposed it was not his place to say anything. For all he knew there was some political aspect to it that he was not privy to, but he was uncertain.

Regardless, he now found himself among the Shepherds that Chrom would be taking into the arena. In the past few days he had the chance to meet the "Shepherds," which was apparently some sort of elite military group led by the prince himself, and despite their quirks, he liked them. They were the closest thing to a family that he had at the moment which made him all the more determined to make sure that they made it out of this alive first and foremost, but also that they succeeded in their goal.

With that said, there was not much he could do until he saw what they were up against. So he started evaluating the competition as soon as they entered the arena while the others talked amongst themselves. Overall the enemy force looked capable if not a little ordinary. If their leader was about the same, then he doubted that they would have too much…Robin froze mid thought as he finally noticed their commander standing silently at the far end of the combat area.

Robin slowly nudged Chrom to gain his attention before pointing over to the masked swordsman with a serious expression. Chrom mirrored his expression once he noticed what the tactician was pointing at. He approached the center of the arena despite the protests of Robin and Frederick while "Marth" did the same.

Robin rubbed his temples as the two began to exchange blows while Sumia came up behind him, "Shouldn't we do something?"

"Yeah," Robin sighed as the two finally seemed to have calmed down, "Chrom!" He cupped his hands and yelled at the prince causing him to look back, "We need to discuss strategy." With one last glance at "Marth" Chrom nodded his head and headed back to the others.

"What was that all about?" Robin asked as Chrom rejoined them.

"His, his sword," Chrom looked a little unsure, "It looks just like mine."

While the others looked on in varying degrees of shock and/or confusion, Robin looked unimpressed, "Okay…."

"Right, I guess you wouldn't know," Chrom prepared to explain, "Falchion is one of a kind. It was forged ages ago and cannot break and does not wear. There is only one Falchion. At least there should be."

"So he may have gotten a replica."

"It's not just that," Chrom looked somewhat troubled, "His fighting style seemed…familiar."

"Familiar?"

"I don't know, it reminded me of the royal style, but it was different."

"Perhaps we might ask him when we are finished here," Frederick offered.

"Right," Chrom agreed, "Well, Robin?"

* * *

Lucina gritted her teeth as she fell back from her battle with Chrom. It was reckless, she knew, but she was eager to get a chance to spar with him. Still, that was no excuse for telling him as much as she did; she would have to be more careful in the future.

However, there was more to her mission than to fulfil her childish wish to go against her father in his prime. This battle was the key to saving the lives of two Shepherds. Lon'qu was injured in this battle in her timeline. Nothing mortal, but it slowed him down enough that he was unable to get to the two Shepherds in question in time to save them. Now that he would avoid harm, he should be able to get there in time.

As the battle began, Lucina silently signaled for the others to begin their assault. She did not expect them to win, but she did not want them to get in the way. She had made sure that Ylisse would get the alliance should she win, and since the Shepherds lacked the experience that would make them heroes, she considered that she might do well, but she would still be outnumbered once she reengaged.

Once the others had been taken out, she braced herself as Chrom approached her.

"Your father, who is he?" Chrom asked with sword already drawn.

Lucina grimaced slightly; she knew she should not have said that, "I've said enough."

"Fair enough," Chrom assumed a battle stance, "Our swords will do the talking."

Chrom charged ahead and brought his blade down with impressive force, but Lucina deflected the blow. She had more than enough experience defeating foes with far superior physical strength; the trick here was not to kill him. She decided to try a little harder and pushed her father onto the defensive with her superior speed.

Just when she found a potential opening, she felt a sharp pain in her neck before falling to the ground. She looked up in time to see an iron sword directly over her masked face.

"Impressive, if not a little surprising," The audience erupted into a roar as Lucina was forced to surrender. As Flavia came to greet her champions, Lucina decided that it was a good time to make herself scarce. There was no need for her to stay any longer; she had lost.

* * *

As she walked around the outer wall of the coliseum, she fidgeted with her mask while contemplating removing it for the time being. That was, until someone's voice caused her to reflexively draw her blade and point it at the intruder. The "intruder" as it turned out, was none other than Robin.

"You know," He said as he pushed the blade away from his face, "Some people may take offense at having a sword shoved in their face."

"Hmph," She sheathed Falchion again, "Perhaps you should not sneak up on me. Now, why have you sought me out?"

"I'm just curious as to what your endgame is."

"Endgame?"

"Yeah, what are you trying to accomplish?"

"I already told you–"

"Yes, the end of the world, but how exactly do you plan on stopping it?"

"That is for me to worry about."

"I'm afraid the end of the world concerns the rest of us too. Now, normally I would just chock it up to the ramblings of a mad person, but what happened in that forest leads me to believe that you may know something that we don't. If you were to share that, then maybe we could help stop whatever it is you want to stop."

"I cannot do that."

"Excuse my bluntness, but why not?"

"I cannot afford to tell you anything more than is absolutely necessary. Continue as you would normally. I will handle the rest."

"I suppose I have no choice but to trust you. I just hope you know what you're doing."

Lucina nodded and made to leave quickly before Robin spoke up once more, "Oh, and Marth."

"Yes?" She turned her head back.

"Good luck."

* * *

Well, that was certainly different. Robin may not have gotten all of the answers, but he did get a clue. Marth's sword's blade was in perfect shape; freakishly perfect. Even the best blades got small chips in them, but Marth's was virtually perfect along the blade. That left two possibilities. Either someone figured out how to make another Falchion, or it was the same sword, but that was impossible...right?

"What have I gotten myself into?"


	3. Chapter 3

Lucina quietly snuck through the royal gardens. She knew these grounds well from her childhood; that, combined with years of learning to be quiet, meant that the guards did not stand much of a chance of spotting her.

She entered the castle grounds via an old hidden passage known only to the royal family and their personal guards. It was a well-kept secret so she knew that she would have to be careful if asked how she entered to avoid revealing too much. Robin already seemed a little too curious about her for her liking.

It was risky for her to come; she knew that, but she had no choice. This was the night that things truly started down the dark path that led to her future, and she was determined to stop it no matter the risk.

"Just dueling with unpleasant thoughts," She heard her father speak and froze in her tracks. She looked to see who he was talking to. Robin. She had wondered about that man, yet she still could not figure out quite how he fit into everything. She knew next to nothing about his life before the Shepherds. Of course, neither did he supposedly. Ever since learning that a personal friend of her father's was to blame for his death, she was forced to view his amnesia with skepticism. Still, all she had to go on was rumors.

Several Shepherds were lost on the day her father died. In fact, all of the Shepherds who went on that expedition died before reaching Ylisse with only a few of their accompanying soldiers making it back with the rumors they overheard from the Shepherds before they died. She had nothing concrete, but the rumors all seemed to have pointed to someone close to her father and that left few possibilities.

She would have to be careful not to act without evidence, but for the time being her plan was to prevent the Exalt's death and weed out a potential traitor later. If there was a traitor in their midst, she would have to deal with them after she had evidence, and hopefully deliver it to her father before they had a chance to act without having to get directly involved again. However, her immediate objective came first.

Stepping out of her hiding spot she overheard her father once more, "She would never order him killed, and I wouldn't want her to. But if I must act as death's agent, then so be it."

"Well said," She spoke as she walked into view. Both of the men looked fairly surprised to see her, but they had not drawn their weapons yet which was a good sign.

"Marth, how did you–"

"That is not important. What is important is that there is going to be an attempt on the Exalt's life, tonight."

"What? Here? That's impossible."

"What if I told you that I knew what was going to happen?"

"Are you serious?" Chrom looked entirely unconvinced while Robin continued to look on in silence; face unreadable.

Lucina expected such a reaction, and, to be fair, she could scarcely blame him, "I thought as much. Perhaps a demonstration is necessary." She pulled out her blade causing Chrom to go for his, "Relax," She immediately turned and thrust her blade into the nearby shrubbery before pulling it back covered in blood as the corpse of the assassin fell to the ground.

"I take that this proof will suffice," Lucina sheathed her blade without looking at her handiwork.

"Yeah," Chrom did not take his eyes off of the fallen assassin.

"Then we–"

Lucina was cut off by the sound of a second assassin charging her. Fortunately, she was fast enough to move out of the way. Unfortunately, she was not quite fast enough to save her mask from getting cut clean in two. While her father quickly dispatched the intruder, she did her best to compose herself in light of this development. As long as she kept her left eye out of view, then she might still be able to salvage the situation.

"Wait, you're a woman?" Chrom gaped in surprise as he turned back around.

Doing her best to ignore the awkwardness, Lucina was about to direct his attention back to the more pressing matter when the sound of an explosion caught their attention and stirred them to action.

Robin immediately began sizing up the situation upon arriving at Emmeryn's room, "Chrom, you and I will defend the main door here while Marth holds the side entrance."

"What about reinforcements?" Chrom asked his tactician as he clutched Falchion, ready to cut down anyone who dared approach his sister, "Do you really think that we can defeat them all alone?"

"We don't have much of a choice. If we give them enough resistance, they'll either send in reinforcements or retreat. We can send the guard after them if they flee."

The royals nodded their agreement as they assumed their positions just in time for the assassins to arrive in force. Chrom and Robin held their own against the invaders, but from what little he could see, "Marth" was indeed a force to be reckoned with; especially when mask free. It made him wonder where exactly she had received her training. He just could not peg her; she was an anomaly. An anomaly that was apparently on their side, but still an anomaly. Though Robin decided that these thoughts would be better suited for later as he narrowly avoided an enemy sword.

Soon enough, the others did start to arrive as the battle waned on. Chrom even convinced one of them to join them in an odd twist, but he had to admit that the bunny lady was even stranger. After the other Shepherds finally showed up, it was a quick matter of dispatching the rest of the assassins. Though Chrom, Robin, and "Marth" did stay back to guard Emmeryn and to give them a bit of a break after holding their position alone for so long.

Once all was said and done, Chrom went chasing after "Marth" while Robin stayed with the others for a bit longer before sneaking away himself. He was not about to let her get away so easily. Not before he got some answers.

He caught up with "Marth" and Chrom just as they were finishing up their conversation. Robin was careful not to be seen or heard as they went their separate ways. Robin waited for Chrom to leave, but he noticed that "Marth" had not moved either.

"You may come out now," She said after Chrom was out of earshot.

"Impressive," Robin conceded that he had been found out.

"Why did you follow me? Have I not earned your trust?"

"You certainly seem to have our best interests in mind," Robin ceded, "But I'm still curious nonetheless. Where did you learn about this attack?"

"Are you insinuating that I was a part of it?"

"No, should I be?"

"Of course not! I would never betray Ylisse. All that you need to know is that by preventing the Exalt's assassination, we have saved the world from ruin."

"And you're sure of this?"

"You still doubt me?"

"…I don't think so. I'm still cautious, however. Even if you are sincere, who's to say that this was enough? When it comes to the fate of the entire world, it pays to be doubly sure."

"…I will keep an eye on things."

"Why keep us in the dark? Why not tell us where you came by this information? We might be able to help."

"Because it is paramount that I interfere as little as possible."

"Interfere?" Interesting choice of words.

"I've said enough."

She started to walk away, but Robin would have none of that. "Wait," He grabbed her by the shoulder and turned her around. In a reflexive motion she drew her blade and stared him down in a threatening stance before catching herself and turning her head down and to the left.

She wordlessly sheathed her blade and continued on her way stopping briefly and turning her head slightly to the right, "Take care of Chrom and the others."

Robin did not reply. No, he was too deep within his thoughts contemplating what he saw. She turned her head quickly, but not quickly enough. He saw something in that eye that she was so determined to hide. It appeared to be a symbol of some kind. It almost looked like…

"Just where did you come from?"

 **A/N: Oh, and don't forget to vote in the new Choose Your Legends. Maybe if she gets enough votes, they'll finally put Cynthia in the game.**


	4. Chapter 4

Robin was at his makeshift desk with a book in hand, but he was not really interested in its contents. No, his mind was too preoccupied by the recent revelations that they had received. To be honest, the thought of time travel had crossed his mind, but he thought that that idea was too farfetched. Though he never did come to another satisfactory answer. This entire situation was quite strange, but he had grown somewhat accustomed to that.

The past few days had presented him with a lot to process to be sure. However, his first duty was to Ylisse and making sure that they won this war. He had been busy all day trying to determine strategies, but he had done about as much as he could without any more information. As such, he had decided to brush up on his general tactics, but his mind still wondered from time to time.

Speaking of distractions, he was soon greeted by the sound of their newest member asking permission to enter his tent. He quietly closed his book and laid it on his makeshift desk before bidding her to come in.

"What can I do for you?" Robin offered her a seat in the empty chair across from him.

"I wanted to apologize to you."

Robin raised his brow, "Apologize? What for?"

"You were right," She looked on unwaveringly from across the desk, "Back at the castle. I should have done more. Maybe if I had gone with you to rescue Emmeryn then–"

"Stop," Robin held his hand up, "Your presence wouldn't have changed anything."

"How can you be so sure."

Robin stared at her hard for a moment, "Because I've gone over that mission tirelessly. One more body wouldn't have changed anything, and you didn't have any intel about what was going to happen that day."

"I suppose that's true, but it's just," She hesitated for a moment, "What if this is all for naught? Emmeryn is still dead despite my efforts. What if history cannot be changed? Not truly."

"That sounds like defeatism."

"What?"

"In your timeline, Emmeryn was assassinated at the castle in Ylisse, correct?"

"Correct," The princess gravely nodded, "The Fire Emblem was also stolen that night, but my father took it back after winning the war."

"Which means that she never addressed the Plegian people. They never saw her sacrifice, and, as such, I'm guessing they never put down their weapons; forcing us to fight our way to Gangrel and suffering casualties as we did so.

"Emmeryn stayed true to her principals until the very end and essentially ended the war in one act of selflessness. However, if not for you, she would have died in vain. It's still a tragedy, as well as my greatest failure, but to say that nothing has changed would be a fallacy."

"I never thought of it like that."

"As soon as you believe you will fail, you probably will."

"Thank you, I will try to remain more optimistic."

She made to stand, but Robin interrupted her, "Before you go, I have a question for you. If you don't mind." She looked at the tactician intently for a few minutes before he decided to make her decision a bit easier, "It's nothing about my future, I assure you."

"…Very well," She relented, "What is it that you want to know?"

"When did you decide to reveal yourself to Chrom and everyone? It could not have been an easy decision to make given your reluctance."

"Well, to be honest, it was more of a reflex when I saw him in danger. After that I decided that it would be best to reveal my identity after I slipped up and called him father." Looking at the tactician revealed that he was clearly unsatisfied with that answer so she sighed and went into further detail, "I always felt tempted to tell him, but I felt that I could not. However, after our conversation at the castle, I began to wonder if I was truly doing enough.

"After Emmeryn's death, I strongly considered joining you, but you ended the war before I came to a decision. I then spent the next two years pondering whether or not I should reveal myself and the future or if I should remain a helper from the shadows. I would change my mind from day to day; I could never truly make up my mind on the matter.

"Then I saw my father about to be attacked by that risen, and I just acted. After that, I decided that I would join the Shepherds. I do believe that I will be able to do more here even if I am unsure of my being here."

"Just remember that you aren't going solo anymore," Robin reminded her, "We all want to stop Grima and the Empire, but you're going to have to follow orders now."

"…Understood. If that will be all…" She made to get up again.

While Robin found her response lackluster, he did not stop her as she left. Robin picked his book back up and continued on where he left off.


	5. Chapter 5

Robin stared across the ocean from over the railing of their flagship. They were on their way to Valm and their fleet. He had an idea formulating about that, but his thoughts were soon thrown off of their course as a particular princess came up on the deck and stared off the bow of the ship seemingly unaware of his presence.

She was as withdrawn as ever, Robin noted. While she had made it clear that she would interact with the present Shepherds as little as possible, he had something that he had been meaning to ask. It did not really matter, but for whatever reason, Chrom and Sumia had specifically requested he talk to her.

"Quite a view, isn't it?" He positioned himself next to Lucina and looked at the setting sun.

She looked at him briefly before reverting her gaze back to the horizon, "Yes, I am unaccustomed to such views. We rarely saw the sun in the future."

"That must have been difficult," Robin quietly responded with what he assumed to be a normal response. He did not get a lot of sun himself, so he could hardly empathize with it being a bad thing.

"It was a desolate world," Lucina looked lost in the memories before snapping out of them, "One that we were forced to abandon in order to save the past. I vowed to make sure that Grima never rose to power again."

"A noble goal," Robin commented before they settled back into a silence until Robin finally decided to ask the question that had been on his mind. "Why did you disguise yourself as heavily as you did?"

"What?"

"Why wear a disguise? The mask makes sense, but was the rest seems tactically unnecessary?"

"Oh, to be honest it wasn't really a disguise," She took note of Robin's confused glance and elaborated, "In the future, clothing was scarce. We wore whatever we could find whether it be worn or even too small. This was simply the only clothing I had. I kept my hair tied back to prevent it from getting in the way on the particularly windy night that we came back as cutting it would have been better for a disguise. It wasn't until I realized that you all thought that I was a man that I decided to keep up the charade so that my father would never even suspect who had helped him." She failed to mention the blow to her ego it had been for them to mistake her for a man. She hardly acknowledged it herself, but even after years of taking up the Hero King's name for her people's morale, no one had called her a man before and on some level, that hurt her pride as a woman. Not that she was about to tell him that.

"So you went through all that just to keep Chrom from having a chance of figuring out that it was you several years down the line?"

"Yes, I suppose it sounds absurd, doesn't it?"

"You were doing what you thought was best for the future; who can fault you for that? Though, you probably shouldn't pursue a career in theater." She raised her brow ever so slightly and gave the tactician a sideward glance, "I knew you were hiding something ever since you spoke in the forest. I thought it may have been your age initially, but everything from the way you walked to your posture said that you were a woman."

"Perhaps you are right," She smiled ever so slightly at his unintentional self-esteem booster, "I did not enjoy the role, plus that mask was dreadfully unpleasant."

"I can imagine," He commented before something occurred to him, "Wait, you mean that's the only set of clothes you have?"

"Yes, why? Do not all of the Shepherds have one set of battle attire?"

"Well, yes, but they usually have a set of non-battle attire, or maybe a duplicate in case something's wrong with the other one. Did you really only wear that for the past two years?"

"Yes, my funds were scarce and I believed clothes to be a frivolous use of them; especially since it would just be more to carry with me," Lucina looked confused as to why this would be a problem.

Robin looked incredulously at the princess. She really saw no need to get new clothes for two years? It was not like in her future where clothes were scarce. Though battle attire may be expensive, a backup was simply good planning and poor planning was something he just did not like, "Some spare clothes couldn't have cost that much."

"True, and I often considered it, but it would not have suited my combat needs. Besides, it would have been cumbersome to carry an extra set of clothes with me. I worked as a mercenary to keep myself up and needed to move around a lot."

Her logic was…not wrong, and his cold and calculating mind could appreciate that. She seemed to be much more logical than anyone else in her family.

"Pardon me," She spoke, bringing Robin out of his thoughts, "But I should be turning in now."

Robin had not even noticed that the sun had set over the horizon, "Right, good night."

Lucina paused for a moment, "…to you as well."

* * *

Lucina quickly shut the door to her cabin behind her and took a seat on the makeshift hammock. She knew better than to talk to the people from this time, yet she found herself indulging the curiosity of the tactician. She was not opposed to disclosing tactically relevant information, but their conversation was certainly a personal one.

Part of her did enjoy the chance to talk about her experiences though, and she actually smiled. She could not remember the last time someone other than her parents had made her smile, though it was probably her sister. No, she nodded her head, such conversations were a waste of her time. She was here to change the future, not make friends after all. She would have to curtail this.

 **A/N: This may be the most altered chapter in this remaster yet.**


	6. Chapter 6

Robin paced around his cabin thinking of what to do for his newest problem. Was he currently thinking of ways to overthrow the brutal Valmese empire? No, he had already developed a rough draft of that, and, since their fleet was now out of commission, there was nothing left to do until they made landfall.

No, he was currently pondering a less straightforward problem. For the past few days, Lucina had become even more withdrawn, even with her parents though not to the same extent. Normally, Robin did not intervene in the Shepherds' personal affairs, but she already had some command issues.

He was wondering how to best handle the situation. At first, he was going to just leave the situation be since he held the inclination that it was none of his business. However, their latest battle seemed to indicate that leaving things as they were would cause some problems.

She kept going into combat on her own during the battle and stayed as far from the main group as she could. Fortunately, she never got into anything that she could not get out of, but that sort of behavior was inexcusable for a soldier and a Shepherd. He could understand how she had become accustomed to acting alone and her desire to maintain the timeline's continuity, but she had to learn to work together with the Shepherds as a unit.

Her protectiveness of her father was also a problem. More than once she broke formation because she thought her father was in danger. The problem was that she put herself and the rest of the Shepherds in more danger by not following orders.

He had contemplated talking to her about it, but she kept dodging everyone who even looked like they were interested in starting up a conversation. Perhaps that was for the best. He was hardly an expert at conversation. He had a strategy meeting with Chrom in the morning; perhaps he would be able to talk some sense into her.

"I see," Robin had just finished voicing his concerns to his friend before their meeting, "I'll have a word with her."

"Good. I was thinking about assigning her a partner though; to help her experience some team building firsthand. I could arrange it so that you or Sumia are partnered with her. If you don't mind going solo, I could–" He stopped when Chrom raised his hand.

"I appreciate that, but I don't think that having me or Sumia be her partner would help as much. She needs to learn to work with all of the Shepherds as a unit, not just us."

"Fair enough, I guess I could find someone else. I'll have to rework the teams a bit."

"Actually, I was hoping that you might do it."

"Me?" Surely he was kidding, "You know that I like the freedom to be able to go where I'm needed. Plus, it helps me to be more able of keeping track of the battle." That, and he was a borderline recluse.

"I know, but I think that you are the best suited to teach her how we operate. No one else is as qualified as you."

"Is that an order?" Robin raised his brow.

"No, it's a request from a friend."

"Fine," Robin sighed.

"Thank you," Chrom smiled as he put his hand on his friend's shoulder in passing.

"Yeah," From grandmaster to royal babysitter in one day. How the mighty have fallen.

* * *

Robin braced himself as he walked up to the princess. He was not particularly happy about the situation, and he imagined that Lucina would feel similarly.

"Robin," She acknowledged. Her father had already spoken to her at length about the matter. Hopefully it was enough.

"So, we are now battle partners. Do you know what that entails?"

She gave a quizzical look, "Does it not mean that we fight together?"

"Yes, but it also means that we train together. We have to know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and we have to be ready to help the other at a moment's notice. We must fight as one cohesive unit. Which means, we'll be seeing a lot of each other over the next few months."

"…Very well," She nodded her understanding.

"That's…it? You're okay with this?" To be honest he was not quite sure what he was expecting.

"My father made it quite clear that he thinks that this is the best course of action for the sake of the Shepherds. I will do as he wishes."

"Okay then, see you at training tomorrow."

"Very well, I begin training an hour before dawn; I'll see you then," She walked back below decks.

Robin sighed, of course she got up that early. How did he get himself into this?


	7. Chapter 7

Robin took a seat on his "bed" while he thought about his "mission." So far they had been training together for a week, but she did not seem to be opening up much. He was perturbed. He had more important things to do than try to fix years of trauma and reclusive tendencies. In truth, some would probably say he himself needed a therapist, not that he should try and be one.

They had settled into a bit of a routine. They would begin an hour before dawn and train several hours, and then they would call it a day. Obviously it was not working. While Robin was probably getting into quite possibly the best shape of his life, she was not making a whole lot of progress in the whole talking to people area. To be honest, Robin figured that it would take more than just a few hours of training every day to bring down her walls. It seemed that more drastic measures were called for if he were going to free himself from this sentence.

"Good morning," Lucina greeted as Robin approached her the next morning, "Shall we begin?"

"Actually, I think we need to focus on some team building today," Robin offered as he stood in front of her.

"Team building?"

"Yes, we need to know each other better in order to be in sync. Most of all, we need to trust each other. At least to cover each other."

"Is that really necessary?"

"For most units, no, it's not. But we're not most units. Knowing your style only goes so far. I need to know how you'll react; how you think. I need to know that I can put my life in your hands and vice versa."

"And this will help us in battle?"

"Come on," Robin did not answer, "Let me show you something." Lucina hesitantly agreed and followed Robin to another part of the deck where Stahl and Cordelia were training.

"What are they doing here so early?"

"I asked them to come. Now watch."

And watch she did as they moved around each other with an understanding of each other's moves that did not come easy. Robin, for one, knew that they made one of the best teams in the Shepherds. He also knew that both he and Lucina outclassed both of them on an individual level, but, then again, that was the point of this little venture.

"Let's go," Robin got his training weapons ready and made for the duo.

"What are you doing?" The princess inquired as she caught up.

" _We_ are going to face them in a friendly competition. Be sure to give it your all though," Lucina looked a bit perplexed, but agreed nonetheless.

"You two ready?" Stahl asked with a smile as he got into position.

Robin nodded his affirmation as he and Lucina assumed their battle stances. As soon as they started, Lucina went after Cordelia while Robin faced off against Stahl. While they would be capable of handling the mounted fighters alone – especially unmounted, their abilities as a team outshined their individual prowess. They fought without once getting in each other's way. They seemed to know exactly what the other was thinking and exactly how they would react.

Their near flawless execution proved too much for the Robin and Lucina. They simply lacked the insight into each other to achieve that level of coordination. So they lost the bout.

Robin thanked them for their help and dismissed them before walking over to Lucina, "Convinced?"

"Even if I was, I doubt if we could ever achieve such feats as they."

"I don't expect us to," Robin explained, "We don't necessarily have to be friends; we just need to get to know each other. However, as it stands, while we work decently enough together, we are going to war, and I'd rather not have either of us lose our heads because I wasn't prepared for you to react a certain way."

"…Very well, what do you propose?"

"Well, stop fighting me on this. For today's practice, however, I want you to think about the session and how they worked together. I'll meet you at the same time tomorrow morning."

"Understood," Lucina offered a slight nod before being dismissed. As she left - no doubt to train some more - Robin looked on with interest. She had been a mystery ever since she showed up in their lives, and even with her past revealed she managed to remain an unknown. Her aversion to almost everyone made it hard to get a read on her. He could fight effectively with every other member of the Shepherds which he achieved by knowing them well enough to shift his style to them as opposed to actually being really close, but she was making that difficult.

He had a pretty good feel for most of the Shepherds. He was typically good at reading people, but, while he could assess Lucina's combat prowess easy enough, he had a hard time getting to know what she was going to do next despite her style being derivative of Chrom's. Even without the literal mask, she was still very much wearing one, and he was curious as to who she was underneath if just because of the mystery of not knowing.

Robin resisted the urge to grimace realizing that was very much a way to end up getting close, and that was something he did not want to risk. Fortunately, with Lucina, that seemed to be an unlikely outcome.

* * *

Lucina hacked away at the training dummy in an almost automatic fashion as her thoughts were elsewhere. She had opposed the idea of this forced partnership, but she also did not want to go against her father's wishes, so she agreed. However, now it seemed that she would not be able to keep up her reclusive tendencies.

With one last swing she decapitated the dummy. Perhaps it was not all bad though. It did present a unique opportunity to see just who the tactician really was which was a task easier said than done since he may have been as, if not more, closed off than she was. She needed to determine if he could truly be trusted or not, and it may be better for her to be close to him if he did turn on them so that she could deal with him if need be. She still did not want to have to do anything extreme, but she was willing to do whatever it took to avert her future.

 **A/N: Hopefully these will be easier once I get to the point where I originally started to make Robin more closed off.**


	8. Chapter 8

Robin was currently moving his food around uninterestedly as he racked his brain. He knew he needed to find a way for them to work together, but he really was not sure how to do it; he may have been closed off from the other Shepherds, but he still trusted most of them with his life and they trusted him. Lucina, on the other hand seemed against trusting anyone that was not her parents, let alone the closed off tactician. It seemed that she would require special work. After all, if she did not trust his orders, it could cause problems.

While he was swirling his peas around his fork, he was distracted by another tray being plopped down in front of him, "You okay? Or are those peas just exceptionally fascinating?"

"I'm at a loss," Robin replied without looking up.

"Wow, that's rare," Chrom sat down across from the tactician, "Are our hopes of victory really so slim as to stump our grand tactician?"

"Yet to be seen," He looked up from his food, "What's got me stumped is the extra assignment you gave me."

"Oh yeah, how's that going?" The noble asked before putting a spoonful of what looked like mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"I convinced her that we need to get to know each other to be more effective, but the problem is that I don't really know what to do in order to accomplish that."

"So, you're finally forced to be sociable, huh?"

"Wipe that smug look off your face," Robin replied agitatedly.

"Alright, alright," Chrom held his hands up in defense, "The other Shepherds seem to trust you enough."

"Because I know them. They talk, I listen. She won't talk."

"Then you do the talking. Sooner or later she'll open up. Might do you some good too," He pointed the spoon towards the tactician.

"Hmm, I suppose I could try, but don't think I don't know what you're doing." Chrom gave a bad attempt at feigning innocence, and after a moment of silence Robin looked around as he noticed that someone was missing, "By the way, where's your wife? You two are rarely separated it seems."

"She's off with Cordelia tending to their pegasuses."

"Pegasi," Robin corrected before taking a bite of his peas.

"You know I can still fire you, right?"

* * *

Sumia was tending to her Pegasus with Cordelia on the deck of the ship. She hated having to leave them in the hold, so she convinced Chrom to let them take the pegasi for some air. It also gave her some time to catch up with her old friend.

"So I heard that you and Stahl had an interesting morning," Sumia said as she brushed her pegasus' mane.

"What!? Who said that? I swear–"

Sumia smiled at her friend's paranoia, "No, nothing like that. I was talking about you're sparring session."

"Oh," The redhead breathed slowly, "Right. Yes, I must say that I was a bit surprised by the request."

"I think Robin wanted to get a point across. I don't think he's been having an easy time with getting Lucina to open up."

"Yes, I was a bit surprised to hear that he had taken a partner after being so adamant about working alone. I take it that you and Chrom had something to do with that."

"Mostly Chrom. He seems to think that Robin has the best chance of getting her to open up to people besides me and him, and I think he's hoping to force him to open up himself."

"Maybe he's right," Cordelia agreed, "I hate that he thinks he needs to close himself off after what happened. Maybe they'll find solace in each other."

"Yes," Sumia glanced off to the side where her daughter caught her attention, "I hope so. I worry about her sometimes. We've just met, but I already think of her as my daughter." Sumia turned her attention back to her friend who just smiled at her, "What?"

"Go on, talk with your daughter. I'll take care of the pegasi."

"I-" The queen briefly hesitated, "Thank you," She ran off to talk with her daughter while Cordelia continued to tend their mounts.

"Must be nice to have a family. Children," She sighed, "Maybe one day."

* * *

Lucina was taking a brief respite from her training when she noticed her mother quickly approaching. She made to pretend as if she did not notice her, but then she stopped herself as she remembered that she could not keep this up much longer; not with how determined her parents seemed to be about her opening up. So, she turned to face her mother and let a soft smile come upon her face. Unfortunately, that smile soon turned into a grimace as her mother tripped on the deck of the ship.

"Mother!" Lucina ran to make sure that she was okay.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," She dusted herself off.

"Mother, you really should be more careful," Lucina looked the queen over to make sure she was indeed okay.

"I know, but I wanted to talk to you," She smiled warmly at her daughter, "I guess I got a little excited."

"What about?"

"Um, well," She had planned so many questions, but her mind went blank, "How's your training with Robin going?"

"Oh, well," Truth be told, she did not think that it was going very well, "He says that we need to learn how each other thinks - to trust each other - but I'm not sure what he has planned."

"Well good luck trying to figure out how he thinks," Her levity did not seem to do the princess any good so she decided to try another approach, "Hey, relax. Just let things flow naturally and you'll learn plenty about each other. I know he can seem a little…cold at times, but I know that he's a good person. Just…try."

"I can try, but I've never been very good at socializing," She awkwardly admitted.

"You'll do fine. You're smart, strong, and beautiful. I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

"Er, thank you, mother."

"Now come on," She grabbed Lucina by the arm, "We have some bonding of our own to do."


	9. Chapter 9

The next day proceeded in much the same way as the previous days had. Robin and Lucina awoke an hour before dawn before training together for several hours. However, after training, Lucina did not immediately leave. Instead she waited for Robin's direction.

"I have received word that we will be landing at Valm Harbor within the next day or two," The tactician led, "Seeing as you are so goal oriented, I thought that you may want to keep conversation on target."

Robin had decided after his conversation with Chrom that he would try just talking, but he also decided to keep it within mission parameters. It seemed to work as Robin went over the battle plan with her. He also hoped that by doing this he would alleviate some of her concerns over her father's safety.

"So what do you think?"

"This is not exactly my realm of expertise, but I have to say that you seem to have thought this through."

"Well, it is my job. Of course I'll have to wait and see the current layout of the city when we get there to finalize my plan, but this basic structure should work no matter the layout."

"It would seem that the Shepherds are in good hands," Lucina said almost to herself.

"I hope so. Everyone seems to think I do a good job, but overconfidence is one of the greatest enemies of a strategist. When you start thinking that you're invincible, then that's when you are the most vulnerable," Robin's mind started to drift back to his greatest failure.

"I see."

"But enough of that," Robin forced his thoughts back on track, "I think we can call it quits for today."

"Yes," The princess nodded in agreement.

When Lucina awoke the next day, she found the deck full of activity. She looked around and saw her father watching on as Robin was preparing to address some of the troops.

"Father, what is going on?" The princess inquired of the activity.

"We are close to Valm Harbor," He explained, "Robin is instructing the flyers about their mission."

"Mission?" She was confused. She was not aware of any preliminary strike.

"Yeah, to knock out their catapults and the like. Can't have them sinking us before we even make landfall now can we?"

Intrigued, Lucina listened in on the briefing as well.

"Alright, in order to minimize the risk of enemy fire, I need you to conduct an aerial raid on their catapults and any other siege-type weaponry they may have. Now, you obviously cannot get too close without being shot down. So you are under direct orders to stay out of enemy range."

"If we cannot get close, then how do you expect us to disable their catapults?" Cordelia inquired of the tactician.

"Good question," Robin looked expectantly to the red headed mage behind him, "Miriel."

The red-headed mage pulled out what looked like a regular fire tome, "With some experimentation, I have found a way to cause a tome to discharge all of its energy at once. These tomes have all been modified to do just that. Simply cast as normal and in roughly fifteen seconds they should produce a sizable blast."

She and Ricken began to hand out the tomes while Robin spoke again, "Sumia and Cordelia, since you have prior magic experience you will be riding alone to allow your pegasi to maintain a higher altitude for as long as possible. Cherche," he turned to the wyvern rider, "Since Minerva can carry a larger load and you do not have experience with tomes, Ricken will be accompanying you. Any questions?" There were no objections voiced. They all seemed to trust him completely. "Alright, you leave at first light."

He started to walk away, but turned back around, "And make sure to make each tome count. Since they use up an entire tome in one use, they are quite expensive; those are all we have; you get one shot at this." He approached Chrom and Lucina once he was done with the flyers, "Once we land it should be fairly straight forward. We should minimize magic usage once we move into the civilian part of town though. Just to be safe."

"Agreed," Chrom nodded, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wife to fawn and fret over."

He walked over to his wife leaving Robin to just smile and nod ever so slightly to himself. That was until he realized that he was not alone as Lucina had not moved. He turned to address the princess, "Are you ready? We will move in for our assault as soon as they have completed their mission."

"Yes, though I must say that this is all…different."

"How so?"

"In the future, no battle strategies were ever so complicated and well thought out. We were fighting a mindless enemy, there was no strategy to their attacks other than brute force. We never had to out think them."

"I suppose it is a whole other animal," Robin mused.

"Animal?"

"It's an expression," He clarified, "In any case, I suggest we get ready. I've never fought with a dedicated partner in a real battle before. Should be different."

* * *

It turned out that the tomes preformed their task well. The fleet was able to land with no resistance from their siege weaponry. Chrom and Robin met on the beach as they prepared to storm the town as Robin adjusted his plan to the town's layout.

"We need to take it slow, no unnecessary risks. We can–"

"Milord," Frederick came up to the duo, "Reports are coming in of a lone woman being chased by the Valmese. She appears unarmed."

"Chrom…" Robin had a pretty good idea how he would react.

"I know what you're going to say, but she needs our help."

Robin knew better than to argue with him once he got like that. "Fine," He sighed, "You and Sumia go get her. I want you to make minimal contact with the enemy while you're behind enemy lines. And be quick about it."

"Yes, sir," He mockingly saluted, "We'll be back before you know it."

"You better," He turned to face the rest of the Shepherds, "The rest of us will continue as planned. Follow my lead."

He turned to Lucina, "Ready to go?" She kept looking to where her parents had flown off, "Hey, I need you focused."

She finally averted her gaze to the tactician, "Of course, let's go."

The fight went about how Robin had predicted. However, he noticed that as the battle raged on; Chrom and Sumia's continued absence became increasingly distracting to the young noble by his side. It came to a boiling point when an explosion could be seen from the direction that the two had headed. That put Lucina over the edge and caused her to charge forward with reckless abandon.

"Lucina! Where–" Robin held his hand out and then let it drop to his side, "Frederick!"

"Yes?" The great knight came from vanquishing an enemy cavalier.

"I need you to take over until either Chrom or I get back."

"Where are you going?"

"Babysitting"

* * *

Robin ran through the enemy forces as fast as he could, occasionally firing off a spell or slashing at an enemy to make room for him to pass. Despite his speed, Lucina was faster and had a head start; catching up to her would be no easy task; at least he hoped it would not be. The alternatives were not so appealing.

He noted Sumia's Pegasus flying overhead with three passengers; Lucina was not among them. They must not have seen her. Gritting his teeth, Robin pushed further into the enemy lines. There would be words about this assuming they survived.

He noticed that something seemed to be drawing the attention of several of the soldiers, and he had an idea just what, or rather who, was responsible for that.

His thoughts were confirmed when he came to an open space with a group of soldiers attempting to surround a certain princess. They were currently backing her toward a building. While it gave her the advantage of not having to watch her back, it also meant she had no place to run.

Robin sighed to himself as he resigned himself to doing something very stupid. Using some nearby crates, he jumped into the ever shrinking free space around Lucina and began to help her fight back her assailants.

"Robin?"

"We are going to have a serious talk about this once we get back," He deftly deflected an enemy lance, ", Chrom and Sumia are already out," He fired an Elthunder spelling at an incoming cavalier, "We need to move!"

However, despite their best efforts, the Valmese were still picking up ground. Robin dug into his coat pocket and pulled out a tome that he had come across during peacetime. It was advanced, but he had been practicing to the point that he - probably - had sufficient skill to be able to use it.

"Hope this works," He opened the yellow bound tome, "Thoron!" A bolt of lightning fired from his outstretched hand and tore through a column of Valmese. He fired off a few more bolts to finish clearing out the area before stopping to catch his breath.

"Are you alright?" Lucina asked as she looked around for any stragglers.

"I'll live," He straightened himself up, "What were you thinking? Breaking formation like that!"

"My father–"

"Was fine. You," Robin suddenly felt light-headed, "You can't-ugh," He felt woozy.

"Robin, you're bleeding."

He felt his side with his hand and, sure enough, said hand came back covered in red. He must not have noticed that with all of the chaos. He was not sure how long it had been bleeding, but he was certainly starting to feel weak.

Unfortunately, the Valmese picked that time to resume their attack. They were certainly persistent. He assumed a battle stance, but to no avail. His vision was blurry and his hearing distorted. He fell to his knees and soon to the ground. The last thing he saw was what looked like horse hooves standing before him as he lost consciousness.

 **A/N: I'm starting to lose hope we'll ever get an actual Awakening banner any time soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

"Ngh," Robin slowly opened his eyes. He did a quick check of his surroundings to see that he was not on a ship, but rather in a stable room. He supposed that meant that they were victorious, but he was still at a loss. The last thing he remembered was bleeding out as the Valmese prepared to run them down.

"Oh good, you're finally awake," A familiarly cheerful voice called.

"What happened?" He tried to pull himself up, but was pushed back down by Lissa.

"You lost a lot of blood. I managed to heal the wound, but you'll need to rest. You're just lucky that Chrom and Sumia got there when they did."

"Right," He sighed; one mystery solved, "What's our status? Casualty reports?"

"I don't know the details," Lissa checked the tactician's vitals, "I know we won; Frederick should have the reports. Oh! And we picked up a woman named Say'ri. She says she's a member of a resistance."

"Resistance?" There was a resistance?

"Yeah, she and Chrom have been talking for the past day and a half. It was really boring though, so I left after the first hour or so."

"I need to get caught up," He readjusted himself, "Could you let them know I'm awake, and that I need a briefing?"

"I don't know. You really need to get some rest," She acted as if she were thinking about it, but Robin was fairly certain that she had already made up her mind, "I'll get them if you promise not to get up until I say so."

"Fine," He knew that arguing was pointless.

"Good," She nodded in satisfaction, "Wait here."

With that she left the room. Robin was eager to get back to work. There were many variables that he needed to know now that they were in Valm. Plus, he needed to know the casualties from taking the harbor as well as the approximate strength of the Valmese forces.

"Robin?" Speaking of things that needed taking care of. He was not looking forward to the conversation about to take place.

"Lucina," He acknowledged.

"It is good to see you awake," She said professionally while maintaining eye contact, "I…I wanted to apologize for putting you danger."

"That's good to hear, however," He breathed deep, "What you did was woefully unbefitting a soldier, let alone a Shepherd. After that stunt, I cannot trust you as your partner or your commanding officer. I am dissolving our team," She held a firm face; she probably had been expecting something like this.

"Furthermore," Robin continued, "You are to be placed on inactive duty until your actions can be reviewed by myself, Chrom, and Frederick."

"What!?"

Robin raised his hand, "You would do well to remember that I am well within my rights to have you sent back to Ylisse for a full military tribunal, noble or not. The only things saving you from that are your importance in stopping Grima and your parents. Plus, I'm almost certain that you would try and escape were you to be sent back."

"But I must protect my father in order to safeguard the future!"

"Your mission is important, but this is an army; an army with rules and regulations that must be followed and enforced. I have no intentions of letting Chrom or any of the other Shepherds dying; something I apparently failed at in your future," He paused for a moment, "But in order to keep them safe, I need everyone to do their parts and not run off on their own.

"How do you think Chrom would take it if you died?"

"What?" Lucina was apparently taken off guard by the question.

"How do you think your death would affect him? He thinks of you as his daughter. He would be crushed if he lost you. Do you really think he would still be fit to lead this army if he was blinded by rage or drowning in depression? To best Grima? Perhaps you should think of that next time you want to go off on your own again."

A silence permeated the room for several seconds before Lucina spoke up, "Will that be all…sir?"

"…Yes, I will let you know when the review will be. Until then, you are free to go."

Once she was gone Robin let out a hefty sigh. He really did not want to do that, but he had tried the subtle route. He knew Chrom and Sumia would probably not be happy once they heard of this, but he knew that he could not let her continue to act the way she had been. She was well on her way to unraveling all of her intentions, and he had no intentions of letting her future come to pass. He intended to keep all of the Shepherds alive - including her - and preventing that future; if he had to "play the bad guy" to do that, then so be it.


	11. Chapter 11

Lucina sat on her bunk thinking about the day's events. She knew that she brought it on herself, but she just could not bring herself to trust the Shepherds completely; not while her father's murder was potentially hiding amongst them.

However, it seemed that she had come to a crossroad. It had become painfully obvious that she would have to trust someone; the question was: who? Her father would be unlikely to act on the information given his incredibly trusting nature, so she had simply opted not to tell him.

That left precious few options, and - as unlikely as it may seem - she was starting to wonder if perhaps she could trust Robin after all. Initially she considered if he was simply trying to remove a threat to any traitorous plans by placing her on inactive duty, but then she realized that if he wanted her gone, then he had the perfect opportunity when she ran off to just let her get killed in battle.

Decision made, she started for the infirmary.

* * *

Robin dropped the reports he had been reading into his lap as he rubbed his eyes. He had been busy pouring over similar reports for the majority of the day. Needless to say, things looked bleak. They were ridiculously outnumbered by the Valmese. Robin had been going over ways to use their immense size against them, but he had nothing solid yet.

He sighed as he looked down at the reports. In addition to having to figure out how to beat almost insurmountable odds, he also had to deal with telling his best friend that he had suspended his daughter. He had yet to actually file the paperwork with all of the work he had on his plate, and, honestly, he was fine with that. Needless to say, he did not look forward to that conversation. The fact that Chrom had not mentioned it yet meant that Lucina had not told him, not that he was surprised. It did not seem like her style to go tattling.

A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts, "Come in," To his surprise, Lucina was the one who walked through, "Lucina?"

"Greetings, how is your recovery coming?" She asked awkwardly from the side of the bed.

"Fine," He eyed her, but did not comment on her odd behavior, "Lissa says that I should be able to leave by the end of the day tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," Another awkward silence permeated the room for almost a minute before she spoke again, "There is something that I need to talk to you about."

"…Go ahead."

"As I mentioned, my father died in my future trying to sway his fate. What I did not say, was how. My father was murdered; by someone close to him."

"Murdered?" Robin let the information sink in.

"Yes, all accounts that I heard indicated that he was betrayed by a Shepherd. Though no one left alive seemed to know who."

"And that's why you don't trust us."

She slightly nodded her head while her face remained ever stern, "Yes, I did not know who I could trust; so I trusted no one save my parents."

"Then why tell me? I must have been at least near the top of your list of suspects."

"You were at the top, but if you wanted to silence me, then you had a prime opportunity on the battlefield. You seem to truly care about the Shepherds, and I believe that you could be invaluable in helping me find the culprit seeing as you know them better than most."

"This is certainly troubling, and I can see how it could breed distrust in you. However, good intentions do not nullify negative consequences. Misgivings about the Shepherds aside, you still committed an act of insubordination, and to not punish you would serve to undermine discipline in the army."

"I understand," Robin looked at her; carefully examining her. She did not seem to be expecting anything else.

"As such, you will be placed on double duty for the next month unless instructed otherwise. Also, you will report to me once you have completed your responsibilities for the day."

"What?"

"Given the circumstances I have decided not to place you on inactive duty. Plus, this setup will allow us to discuss the Shepherds without tipping off a potential traitor."

"So then, you will help me?"

"Of course, I want to stop Grima as well; we would do well to work together. However, this means that you do as I say on the battlefield from now on. You have to trust me."

"I will," She nodded affirmatively.

"Good, now if you'll excuse me; I have a lot of paperwork to catch up on."

"Of course," She turned to leave the room, but she stopped just short of the door, "And, thank you."

"Don't mention it," With that she left the tactician to his thoughts and paperwork. Not that he was overly focused on it. To say that the idea of a traitor amongst the Shepherds was troubling would have been an understatement. He had a hard time fathoming who would betray them; let alone why.

Then there was Lucina. While her decision to share this information when she did may come off as an attempt to get out of punishment from most people, he did not believe that to be her motivation; it just did not seem like her.

It was probably also for the best that she did not go to Chrom with the information. It was entirely possible that he would have refused to believe it, yet, while Robin was not happy about the prospect, he was unwilling to dismiss the warning. In any case, it seemed that they might be able to at least make some headway now. If only it did not require the possibility of a traitor.


	12. Chapter 12

Robin stretched as he walked outside of what used to be a command post for the Valmese. Lissa had finally given him the okay to leave the night before and it was not a moment too soon. He was starting to get restless being cooped up in that room while the war plans went on without his direct input. The others were quite capable of carrying out his orders, true, but he liked to be directly involved in even the prep work.

They had actually been making really good time with their preparations, and they would be ready to depart in the morning. As far as their target, Robin was not entirely certain if it was worth the risk on the chance that she could convince the people to stand together. However, she could prove invaluable in the Grima situation, so he signed off on it.

To that end they would be heading south in at least week-long journey. The Shepherds alone could probably make it in less time, but moving armies took time. In the meantime, the tactician was preparing for the march when Chrom finally caught up with him.

"I see you're back on your feet," Chrom gave him a friendly slap on the shoulder, though he really did not know his own strength at times.

"Yeah," Robin adjusted said shoulder, "It's good to finally get out of that room."

"I take it that everything is going according to plan?" He watched as the wagons were being loaded.

"Yes, everything appears to be in order. It's good to see that you can handle some things without me."

"Won't be long before we won't need a tactician."

"I wouldn't go that far. We're already understaffed in the tactics department as it is."

"What can I say," Chrom shrugged, "How could I possibly find anyone who could hold a candle to our masterful tactician?"

"Are you sure that you're just not too cheap to hire a secretary?"

"You know we have a war to fight?"

"What was your excuse during peacetime?"

"Recovery?"

"Gold was the last of our problems," Robin had no idea how Plegia had obtained so much gold, but as one of the few to actually see the reparation reports, he knew that they still held more than enough to pay for this campaign even after reparations.

"So I saw that Lucina was on a double shift," Robin eyed him knowing that he was changing the subject, but did not say anything since he did not know how Chrom felt about the subject.

"Yes…"

"I think it'll do her some good."

"You do?" Robin felt a bit of relief at the information.

"Of course. What she did was reckless, and she almost got herself and you killed. Sometimes tough love is the only way to get through."

"Huh, after seeing the way you dote over Lucina and Sumia, I'm kind of surprised to hear you say that."

"I can dote on my daughters without spoiling them. How about you leave the parenting to the parent?" Chrom's mouth then grew into a mischievous grin, "Speaking of, any ladies caught your eye as of late?"

"Not this again," Robin groaned. Chrom loved to pester him about his love life, "We've been over this, I–"

"'Need to stay objective during a tactical situation, and can't afford to let personal feelings get in the way,'" Chrom finished from memory, "Come on, there are women outside of the Shepherds you know."

"That's not the only reason, and you know it."

Chrom looked at his tactician hard, "That was one time. You can't let one mistake hold you back forever."

"I can if it prevents it from happening again," Robin looked Chrom in the eyes, "I don't want to lose control again."

Chrom did not say anything else opting to simply look on in concern. He had hoped time would pull Robin out of this, but it seemed that was not the case. Unfortunately, he really did not know what to do.

* * *

Robin was finishing up his work for the evening when he heard someone approach.

"Come in," He answered while never looking up from the paper he was reading. Once finished, he put the paper back into the stack and looked at his visitor.

"Greetings," Lucina stood across from the tactician, "I am reporting in as ordered."

"Good," Robin and Lucina remained in those positions for several moments before Robin spoke again, "Is there something else?"

"I was wondering if you had any ideas on how to catch the traitor."

"I see," Robin sighed. He honestly was not sure how to catch a potential traitor, but he also knew that this was coming, "Well, I highly doubt that a traitor would want to sabotage our efforts in Valm as it would seemingly be in their best interest to stop them. Unless they are simply a pure opportunist, but I highly doubt that is case. For the time being our best bet is to act as if nothing is amiss. If you hear anything suspicious, tell me before acting on it."

"I shall concede to your judgment in this matter," Lucina somewhat reluctantly agreed to the plan, "If I hear anything, I will tell you."

"Good, just be careful not to tip your hand. Your presence alone could cause them to become extra cautious. The less they know that we know, the better."

"Understood"

"Then you are dismissed. Get some sleep."

"Alright," She nodded yet did not seem very enthusiastic about the prospect of sleep for some reason.

Robin for one, was quite ready for some rest. This whole traitor business was quite troubling for him, and he just wanted to take a night's rest to forget about his problems. However, he still had work to do, and he was not about to let anyone get hurt on account of his desire to sleep.

So, he picked up the last few documents and continued to analyze their contents. After all, if they could not survive this war, then it did not really matter who the traitor was.


	13. Wave 3

"Ah!" Lucina shot up from her cot in a cold sweat as she took in her surroundings. Her breath became more even as she realized where she was. It almost never failed that she would be plagued by some nightmare, yet she never quite got used to them.

After quickly checking her appearance to hide any indication of her tumultuous night, she left for her double duty shift. She actually much preferred the work and was somewhat relieved at the excuse to work harder.

She spent the first part of her day helping to prep the wagons for the march ahead of them. After that, she simply stayed on the Shepherd's flank. Honestly it sometimes seemed that she was just put on the bottom of the ladder as much as having to work more. Of course, she was more than used to eating last; assuming she got to eat at all.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a small figure, however, as it almost ran into her.

"Whoops," The childlike woman uttered as she noticed her near collision, "Sorry time travel lady!"

"It is fine, lady Nowi," Lucina assured.

"Lady makes me sound old," The manakete puffed out her cheeks despite the fact she was the oldest person there, "I am not a day over 1,500," She quickly reverted back to her smile though, "Anyway, it's been fun, but I need to get moving! Bye!"

And with that the girl bounded off back into the marching Shepherds. Lucina wondered what she could have been doing when a young man with curly hair ran up to her.

"Scuse me, miss, but have you seen Nowi runnin through here? She insisted on playin a game, and now I can't seem to catch her."

"She went that way," Lucina pointed in the direction the manakete had run off to.

"Thank ya, ma'am," He tipped his…pot before running off in that direction leaving Lucina to ponder what had just happened. She found it hard to believe that they were Nah's parents. They were playing; during a war!

Lucina remembered the Shepherds being fun-loving for the most part, if not a little odd, but she did not think that they would be this lax during an active war. It was a problem that she had noticed for a while, but had never brought up before. She decided that she would change that, however, when she met with Robin that evening.

* * *

"He seriously put in a request for a candy shipment?" Robin sighed as he denied the latest supply request. The Shepherds may have taken him in, but sometimes he wondered what went on inside their heads.

It was then that Lucina stopped by for her nightly check in, "Ah," Robin set the request down, "Anything to report?"

"Nothing as far as a traitor goes," Lucina stood in a rigid posture.

"But…"

"I have noticed that the Shepherds do not seem to grasp the gravity of our current situation. They are not taking our predicament seriously."

"Ah, I see you ran into some of the more jovial Shepherds," Robin smiled slightly, "I'll admit that while they may not act like it, I assure you that they are the best of the best."

"That may be, but they are treating the fate of the world carelessly."

"They may not act like outstanding soldiers, I agree, but that's just how they work. They get results, and they get a bit more leeway as a result. That and Chrom isn't exactly the tight ship kind of person. So long as they don't disrupt regular operations and follow orders they get to act as weird and…quirky as they like."

"Is that really the best way to handle operations?"

"Perhaps not, but the Shepherds are not technically bound by standard military protocol anyway. They are under Chrom's direct command, and you know how much he dislikes formality. Besides, they get results, and that's what matters."

"I don't know…"

"It also helps them cope with all that's going on. You might be surprised by just how much they care; they just don't let it show. Surely you knew some seemingly strange people in your time."

"…I did," She nodded. It was true, but she had expected more of her parents' generation; they were heroes.

"Sometimes people just need to act as if nothing is wrong so that they can escape the horrors of war. Even if just for a moment. I don't know what they were to you growing up, but they are human just like you. They have their own ways, however strange they may seem, of dealing with all of this. I just ask that you remember that in the future."

"I see, my apologies. Perhaps I spoke too rashly."

"No need to apologize. They often vex me as well. Just, try to live with it."

"…I will try. Good night."

"Night," Robin mumbled before resuming his work. Truly the Shepherds were unique, but he had not given just how strange they were much thought for a while. Well, until this time travel business came up. Truly they were a strange bunch. He supposed he was no exception.

* * *

Robin was sitting in the mess tent after they had stopped marching for the night, and, of course, there was a paper in his left hand as he ate with his right.

"Whacha working on there, Bubbles?" The resident sugar addict sat down across from him.

"Scouting reports for our march tomorrow," Robin answered dully as he took a sip from his cup.

"Cool, cool," They sat in silence for several moments, "Hey–"

"You're not getting any candy," Robin never looked away from the report.

"Ah, come on, what makes you think that that was why I came here?" Robin stopped looking at the report just long enough to give him an unconvinced look, "Okay, that's why I came."

"We're in the middle of a war, Gaius. Perhaps you should focus on that for a while."

"How can you expect me to fight with no sugar?"

"I'm sure that you will find some way to smuggle it in like always. At least then it doesn't come out of the war fund."

"Fair enough," He stuck a sucker into his mouth, "So how goes things on your end, Bubbles?"

"I just told you, scouting reports," Robin lifted the paper for emphasis.

"Nah, I meant outside of work," Gaius leaned over like he was about to reveal a secret, "Any lady friends?"

"Why the sudden interest?"

The thief leaned back in his chair, "Just trying to make conversation. You're too serious. Keep it up and you might end up like ol Grumpy."

Robin put the paper down, "I have to make sure that we survive this war. **That** is my priority."

"What about before the war? You barely left the castle."

"I was busy."

"For two years solid?" He shook his head, "You my friend, need to get out more."

"So people keep saying."

"Just you wait, Bubbles, someday you'll meet a little lady that sweeps you off your feat. Have a little faith."

Robin scoffed as the man walked away. As if he'd ever find love.

* * *

After his run in with the sugar addicted thief, Robin decided to retire to his tent to finish preparing the next day's march; which he had just finished when Lucina came in looking particularly grave.

"Judging from that look, I'd say you found something."

"I believe that I may have discovered a prime suspect."

"Oh," Robin straightened up in his chair, "Who?"

"I was in the mess tent when I overheard Vaike commenting on how one day he would 'get' Chrom. I am deeply concerned about that, and I think that–"

"Wait," Robin raised his hand, "You said that Vaike said that?"

"Yes, why?"

"Vaike sees himself as your father's rival. He insists that one day he'll beat him in a spar. He's just being overly dramatic, nothing more."

"But–"

"I promise you he doesn't mean anything malicious by it. Honestly I doubt if Vaike could even pull off such a long-term deception. He's not that bright if you haven't noticed."

"I…see. My apologies for jumping to such a conclusion."

That is why I'm having you come to me first, but, uh, in the future perhaps you should explain the situation before jumping to accusations," Robin paused for a moment as he considered another thought, "Also if you hear or see anything else that you have questions about-even if it isn't related to averting your future-perhaps you should run it by someone. Even my advice would be better than none."

"Thank you, Robin, that is kind of you."

"I can't have my agent making a scene. Is there anything else?"

"…No, that will be all. Have a nice night," She nodded slightly before leaving Robin alone with his thoughts.

Robin was honestly a bit surprised that she would make that mistake. It seemed that he had underestimated her lack of social know how. What kind of future would lead to such state?

He shook his head; it was a moot point…hopefully they would stop it. Still, he needed to make sure she did not end up drawing too much attention to herself. Any spy was likely already wary of her. The last thing they needed was her snooping to be exposed.

* * *

Lucina approached the riverbank with her arms full of baskets. She had ended up with laundry duty, not that she was terribly surprised. So, she fumbled around with carrying as much of the Shepherd's dirty laundry with her in one load as possible, and she was starting to find out that she had tried to carry too much.

She exhaled in relief as she barely managed to set the baskets down without spilling their contents. Lady Cordelia was apparently serious when he said that they had plenty of clothes.

"Are you okay?"

Lucina quickly rounded while reaching for Falchion only to drop her hand when she saw who it was, "I'm fine, mother. I just tried to carry too much." She then noticed that her mother was also carrying some baskets, "Why are you carrying those?"

"Huh?" She looked down at the laundry, "Oh! I'm on laundry duty too."

"You? But you're the queen!"

"Which means that I must lead by example," She smiled, "Besides, I want to help even if it's something as minor as helping with the laundry. I'm just glad that we're on the same shift. Come, let's talk," Sumia pulled her daughter toward the river with a surprisingly tight grip.

"So what did you want to discuss?" Lucina asked as she picked up a shirt and began to soak it.

"Nothing in particular. I just want to talk with my daughter. Hmm," She paused, "I have been wondering if you had made any friends."

"I'm not here to make friends, mother. You know that–"

"–you can't interfere, I know. What about Robin? You two seem to be getting along better."

"We have worked out some of our differences, but I would hardly call us friends."

"Guess that makes you about on par with most of us. Well, what about in the future?"

"…I was never good at making friends," Lucina almost whispered, "But I did have some that I would trust with my life."

"Any male friends?" Sumia asked without looking away from her work.

"A few, why?" Lucina looked at her mother confusedly not understanding what she was really asking.

Sumia tried hard not to smile realizing her daughter had completely missed the point, "Never mind."

* * *

Robin was hard at work trying to figure out how to break Steiger when Lucina came in. She was remarkably punctual as Robin had come to notice.

"So, did you find anything out by looking through the Shepherd's dirty laundry?"

"Why would looking through their dirty clothes help me discover the traitor?"

Robin sighed, "It's an expression."

"Oh, well I have nothing to report in regards to the traitor, but, I…" she hesitated.

"Yes?"

"My mother asked me about my friends from my future today, and, well, there is something else that I have withheld."

"Oh?"

"I did not come back alone. There were others with me - the children of the Shepherds. We were separated when we came back though. I don't know where - or even when - they are."

"I can understand why you didn't want to share that," Robin thought for a moment, "We can't spare the resources at the moment, but once this is over I can organize some search parties to look for them."

"I," She looked as if she were about to object but stopped herself, "Thank you."

"Um, there is one more thing. My mother specifically asked if I had any male friends. Why is that?"

"That…is not my place to say."

"Why not? Is it something bad?" Lucina said in a slight panic.

"No, it's just," Robin sighed deeply, "She was asking if you had any romantic interests."

"Wh-what?" she suddenly became uncharacteristically flustered, "She thinks that I–with them?"

"I take it by your response that you don't think of any of them like that."

"Of course I don't! They're like my brothers!"

"So you've never been in a relationship, huh?"

"N-no…"

"Don't feel bad, neither have I," Robin, deciding that she had suffered enough, changed the subject, "Well, I hope we find your friends. That will be all."

"T-thank you," She quickly left the tactician's tent.

Back in the comfort of her own tent, Lucina was left to contemplate her reaction to what Robin had said. She had never been good with social interaction, especially when it came to her love life. When her friends would tease her, she would always insist that she did not have time for that. She would sometimes try to tell herself that she did not want a relationship, but she knew that that was not true.

She dreamed of having a normal life and starting a family in a peaceful little cottage surrounded by green grass and bright flowers, but she would never tell her friends that. She had resigned herself to the fate of dying alone. Likely in some gruesome manner.

That's not to say that several men did not make passes at her, but she always ignored them. In Inigo's case, he was far too much like a brother for her tastes. Plus, she never cared for shallow flirtation. She simply had too much riding on her success to distract herself like that. Maybe that would change some day, but she did not expect that day was likely to come any time soon.

* * *

"So, he had no intention of eating a horse?"

"No, he just meant that he was really hungry."

Robin had started spending more and more time explaining the Shepherd's odd behavior to the princess as the night's drew on and she became more comfortable around the tactician. He found it kind of ironic that he was the one doing this since he did not always understand them himself, but he did at least understand common expressions.

In a sense, it reminded him of when he found some of his knowledge lacking after waking up in that field. Sure, he had an unexplained tactical and basic knowledge, but he still lacked some things. It was a little odd how he had somehow become her social coach despite not really socializing much.

"So is there anything else that you have questions about?" He had more or less resigned himself to his fate. At least it was fairly amusing, and she was decent company.

"Actually, I was curious about my parents. How do they feel about my presence? I know they want me to feel welcome, but I was hoping that you might know how they truly feel."

"Lucina, I assure you that they care for you dearly."

"You're certain?" She seemed determined to find an excuse to distance herself from everyone…a thought which struck awfully close to home.

"It's a strange circumstance, but yes, they think of you as just as much of a daughter as the girl in the castle."

"I see…" She did not look particularly happy at the news, and Robin was starting to figure out why.

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

"What?"

"When this is over, you're going to leave, aren't you?"

"I–" She was uncertain how to react, but one look at the tactician told her that she could not lie her way out of this, "Yes, once Grima's return has been stopped, I plan to disappear without a trace."

"And where do you plan on going?"

"To my own time preferably, but if that proves impossible, then, I don't know. I suppose I will find some secluded corner of society to live out my days far away from anyone that could know me."

"So you were hoping that your parents were just being polite so that it would be easier to leave."

"I really do appreciate their hospitality," She quickly replied, "And i-it feels nice to have my parents around again, but," She inhaled deeply, "I do not belong here. Once my work here is done - for certain this time - I must vanish and allow everyone to live their lives."

Robin did not answer; he only stared on with a hard face, "Will you tell them?"

There it was. Would he? Chrom had done a lot for the tactician, and he would almost certainly want to know so that he could try and talk her out of it. At the same time, however, she had every right to leave if she truly thought it the right thing to do, but did she want to? In any case, should he really be intervening in such a matter?

"This is a serious matter; I need to think it over. I'll let you know of my decision tomorrow."

"Very well. If you'll excuse me, I have to get up early for watch."

She must have been more uncomfortable then he had thought; she never seemed too eager to sleep before. Once she was gone, Robin released a deep sigh. He was not sure what was worse, her plan, or the fact that he was not surprised by it.

He was no stranger to keeping his distance emotionally, but she did not have the same reason as he did. He thought she had been getting better, but she apparently still had a way to go. While she had every right to leave, he really doubted that she wanted to leave, but so long as she labored under the presumption that her presence was harmful in some way, she would never choose to stay. He wanted her to avoid a life like his, but telling Chrom might only make things worse.

Robin sighed once again, and people wondered why he liked to keep to himself.

* * *

"We'll attack here, from the east where they're at their weakest," Robin began the briefing for taking the Mila Tree, "It's almost certainly a trap, but it will provide enough of an opening to get a few Shepherds in at these three points," Robin accentuated by pointing at the map. "Once we're in, Khans Flavia and Basilio will lead our main forces to intercept their ambushing forces leaving us to deal with the stragglers inside of the perimeter.

"We'll go divided into three teams. Chrom will lead the northern group and make a straight push towards their commander," Chrom nodded his agreement as Robin continued, "I will lead the southern team and intercept any potential ambushes while Frederick leads the middle group to catch anyone who gets by us. We will rendezvous here," Robin pointed to the map, "Before meeting up with Chrom for the final push. Any questions?" No one objected as they knew better than to question him by that point, "Alright, we march at first light."

As the Shepherds started to file out of the room, Robin chose to stay behind and stare at the map although his thoughts were not on the coming battle.

"Excuse me," Cherche, one of their newest members, walked in, "Oh, my apologies. I didn't realize that you were still working."

"No, it's alright," Robin looked away from the map, "Just a personal matter. What can I do for you?"

"I was just wondering which group I would be in during the assault."

"Frederick's. Sorry, I usually post the teams after the briefing," Strange, it was unlike him to forget that.

"Hmm, are you sure that you're alright?"

"Surely you don't want to hear about my problems."

"After everything you've been doing to liberate my homeland, it is the least I could do," She let out a sincere smile, "Besides, talking about them can help."

"Well," She did not seem to know much about him. Maybe another perspective could be useful. "Someone I know has decided on a course of action that they believe to be for the best. The problem is, I don't think that they actually want to do it. Not to mention the fact that I believe they are basing their decision on faulty logic. However, if I tell someone who might be able to talk them out of it, I risk making things worse than they were before by betraying their trust."

"That is quite the predicament, but I think the solution is quite simple."

"And what would that be?"

"If you think that they are making a bad decision, help them yourself."

"Me?"

"Why not? You're smart, who better to help someone with a matter of logic?"

"It's not quite that simple."

"Don't sell yourself short," She kept up her disarming smile, "Just remember that in the end, it is their decision to make."

He pondered what she said as she left him alone in the tent. Was he in a position to help her see the error in her logic? Even if he was, should he really intervene? He was almost certain that she was doing this out of some sort of sense of duty, and that she did not really want to leave; he knew Chrom and Sumia wanted her to stay, but, again, was it really any of his business? Perhaps he was looking at this wrong. Maybe he just needed to help her open up, and then she might be able to see past her need to not interfere on her own.

Of course, he was not the best person for opening up. He was not exactly a hermit, but he was not exactly great with people either. He had his reasons, but he would have liked to be able to socialize like the rest of them. Lucina did not have to force herself into exile. He wanted to help her see that. To help her avoid being like him.

* * *

Lucina came to his tent for her nightly report on schedule, though she was obviously tense. She rigidly gave her report and then waited for Robin to give his decision.

"I have thought long and hard about what to do in this matter, and I have decided not to tell your parents," She looked relieved, but not happy. "You have placed a certain degree of trust in me; it seems only right that I don't betray it. I trust that we will still be able to work together."

"Of course," The princess nodded.

"Good, then if there is nothing else, we have a big day tomorrow, and I suggest you get some rest."

Lucina nodded and made for the tent flap, but she paused shortly before leaving, "Thank you, Robin."

Robin simply stared at the now empty entrance, hoping that he knew what he was doing.

* * *

Robin surveyed his troops as they prepared to march. His team would be the first to leave, followed shortly by Frederick and then Chrom, and so Robin decided on a little pre-battle check.

However, his surveying was not just about battle preparedness. No, he had checked that the night before, and he trusted the Shepherds to prepare - except for Vaike, but he was with Chrom. He was really looking for a certain princess, both to make sure that she had not gone AWOL to protect her father and to see about putting his plan into motion…if it could even be considered a plan. Really, he was uncertain about what to do, but he was committed by this point.

"There you are," He found her off by herself securing the little armor she had.

"Ah, what brings you by?" She asked as she finished strapping on a shoulder pad.

"It's common practice for partners to stick together before combat."

"Partners?" She looked perplexed, "But I thought that–"

"I never filed the paperwork, remember? However, if you want, I might be able to get you into Chrom's group," He eyed her as she made her decision.

She appeared to mull it over for several seconds, "No, thank you, but it would be much too cumbersome to change the plan now."

"Alright, if you're sure," Normally that would be roughly where their conversation ended, however, Robin would have to mix things up a bit, "If you don't mind my asking, you've been asking me about several social situations involving the Shepherds, am I to take that as you have been socializing more?"

"Um, not exactly," She looked almost…embarrassed? "I've mostly…overheard things."

"You've been eavesdropping."

"Yes"

Robin sighed, "I suppose I should have expected as much. Look, if you really want to get to know these people, you're going to have to talk to them."

"I can't afford to get attached. You know that."

"I do, better than most, but I also know that it is possible to get to know them without letting yourself get too attached."

"But I-I–"

"Yes?"

"I've always been terrible with people! I never get their jokes, and I almost always end up in some awkward situation or another. Even in the future, though it wasn't as bad."

"You seem to do all right with your parents."

"They're different; the exception."

"I see. Well, you seem to do okay with me."

"I…suppose so, but I'm just not good with doing things that normal people do like holding casual conversations."

"Truth be told, neither am I, but I think that it is a worthwhile experiment. I've seen how knowing the people you're fighting with makes people fight harder."

"What about you then?"

"What about me?"

"You keep yourself at a distance from the others."

"I-I'm a bit of a special case. Besides, I do get to know them enough to want to protect them."

"I…suppose I could give it a try. If you'll help me."

"Me? Did we not just establish that I'm not the best suited for that job?"

"Actually, I believe that we established that you are the best person for helping to get to know them without getting too close as you put it."

"…Touche. Very well, I agree to your terms," Robin made one last check of his equipment, "Now, come on, we have a mission to accomplish, partner."

 **A/N: I decided to combine the previous wave into one longer chapter. The individual ones were pretty short.**


	14. Wave 4

"Alright, now I want you to go over to them, and politely join in their conversation."

Robin had been addressing Lucina's concerns over her social inexperience and was ready to see what she had learned. She, on the other hand, was not so eager. He probably would not be either if he were his teacher.

"I don't know…"

"You have to try sometime. If it helps, I'll be right over here."

Robin had intentionally picked the most inviting group there, but even he had his doubts; not that he would let her know that. He gave her a small, encouraging nod as she finally started to move toward the small group of people.

Unfortunately, it became increasingly clear that she was unprepared for this after the awkward greeting and the fact that she never even uttered a word after said greeting. Clearly Robin had advanced the plan too quickly. He mentally sighed, this was not going to be easy.

* * *

After profusely apologizing later that night, Robin decided that they should take a break from their endeavor so that Robin could think up a better way to go about it. He was having a bit of trouble with that though. He figured that was what happened when someone who was borderline antisocial decided to help make someone be social.

Regardless, he was currently focused on the old Steiger floor plans that Say'ri had managed to acquire for him. There was no way of knowing exactly how accurate they still were, but it at least provided him with a general layout as well as a look at the maze-like cellar underneath the fort proper. It looked as if a sizeable force could stay down there for days if not weeks. Unfortunately, the confusing nature of the cellar made it impractical to use in their assault as most would be hard pressed to memorize the layout in the little time they had.

However, he was interrupted by someone sitting across from him as was becoming the norm whenever he ate in the mess tent, yet people wondered why he ate in his own tent so often. He expected it to be Chrom or one of the other guys ready to harass him but was honestly surprised to see Lucina sitting across from him.

"What are you reading?" She asked while Robin was still trying to figure out why she was there, "Robin?"

"Huh? Oh, right, this," He gestured to the plans spread over the table, "I was just preparing for the assault on Steiger. I don't suppose that you would have any pertinent information?"

"I'm afraid not. I never knew much about the details of the Valmese War, and even if I did I doubt if it would be relevant after everything that's happened."

"Shame, though I suppose it means that something is working."

"I hope so. I won't let my future happen again."

"Don't worry, it won't."

"Sorry, I suppose I shouldn't bring that up."

She was being unusually chatty, "It's no problem."

"So, um, do you normally eat alone?"

Why would she– "Most of the time, but someone usually decides to join in."

"I'm bothering you, aren't I?"

"Well, I must admit that it is quite novel for you to be so talkative."

"Oh, that," She looked ever so embarrassed before she began her explanation, "I talked to mother yesterday, and, well, your plan came up."

"So, what did she say?" Robin leaned back into his chair with his arms crossed.

"She said it was a very…you thing to do, but that you were overthinking it. She suggested that I just talk to someone until I was comfortable."

"You've been using me for practice."

"Are you upset?"

"No. I suppose I was not suited for the task anyway; your mother would be a much better guide. In any case, I suppose that you will no longer require my services." Robin felt relief at being free of that responsibility.

"Well, actually I was hoping that you could still lend me your ear. I've already gotten to know you better than most of the Shepherds; I was hoping that I could 'practice' on you. If it's not too bothersome."

Robin thought it over. He had already committed to helping her, and they would likely continue their nightly meetings either way. However, he knew that he should not let her get too close. Though there did not seem to be much danger of that with her.

"Very well, so long as you can handle some incredibly dry conversation."

* * *

The Yllisean-Feroxi forces were currently en route to fort Steiger. Robin estimated that they would arrive in roughly one week; maybe a week and a half depending on any extenuating circumstances.

In the meantime, things were fairly cut and dry. Robin was riding at the head of the Shepherds with Chrom. One of the perks of being a high-ranking member of the military meant that he got a mount during transit. He usually rode in the front with Chrom, and they were more often than not joined by Frederick and Sumia; though Chrom made it clear that any Shepherd was more than welcome to join them if they wanted.

On this particular day, Sumia had chosen to stay back with Cordelia and Stahl had decided to accompany them. They made small talk, but Robin and Frederick were usually more passive observers.

"So, is what I've heard around camp true?" Chrom asked the green Paladin.

"What would that be?" Stahl nervously scratched the back of his head.

"I heard that you finally proposed to a certain redhead."

"Oh, yeah, I figured that we don't know what's going to happen next, so I finally built up the courage. I'm just amazed that she said yes."

"You sell yourself short," Chrom reassured with a friendly pat on the back, "So when are you planning on actually getting married?"

"We want to have it soon, but we don't want to be bothersome."

"It's no bother at all! We can have it as soon as you want. Isn't that right, Robin?"

"I suppose," Robin had become used to things like this.

"Now that that's settled, who did you have in mind for a best man?"

"Ah, well, since my brother is back in Yllise, I had thought about asking you, but you are the ruler of Ylisse…"

"Nonsense! I would be happy to be your best man."

"Milord," Frederick spoke up for the first time during the whole march, "I'm not sure that would be such a good idea."

"Huh? Why not?" Chrom was many things. He was a loyal friend, a dedicated leader, and a loving husband and father, but he could also be as dense as a stone. Even Robin had noticed the pegasus rider's infatuation with their leader. Apparently Frederick had as well; in fact, Chrom was probably the only Shepherd who did not know. Well, maybe Lucina.

"In the past," Frederick tried to explain, "Cordelia has had…feelings for you, and while she may be over you, I think it might be in bad taste for you to partake in the ceremony."

"Oh," Chrom sat on his horse awkwardly.

"Anyway," Stahl was once again scratching the back of his head, "I was wondering if you might do it, Robin."

"Me?" Robin had never been asked to be the best man before. Groomsman, maybe, but he did not think of himself as best man material.

"Yeah, you've done so much for all of us; we'd be honored if you would participate. I can understand if you don't want to though."

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"Well, gents," Chrom said chipperly, "Looks like we have a wedding on our hands!"

* * *

Lucina narrowly avoided yet another Shepherd in the mayhem which she had yet to find a reason for. However, she soon spied Robin wordlessly navigating the chaos with a book in hand as if he was used to this; in fact, he probably was. Deciding that he was her best chance at getting an answer, she slowly but surely navigated her way toward the tactician.

"Robin!" She called out to the man as she neared him.

"Hmm," He looked up from his book to see the princes weaving in and out of the setup crew.

"What is going on?"

"Oh, this? Stahl and Cordelia are getting married."

"Tonight? In the midst of a war!?"

"I know. I suppose it is part of the whole uncertainty of war thing. It does increase moral though.

"Anyway," Robin continued, "All of the Shepherds are invited and excused from duty. I suggest that you take advantage of this opportunity to mingle."

"Will you be attending?"

"I'd better," Lucina looked confused by the answer, "I'm the best man."

"I see. Best of luck to you."

"It's not like I'm getting married mind you. I just have to hand him the rings."

"Well, I have a few more tasks to finish so I should be going if I am to finish in time. See you then."

Robin simply nodded as she left to finish her duties for the day. Once she was gone, Robin went back to reading his book on his way to his tent.

* * *

The ceremony was fast approaching and Robin and Chrom were with Stahl. Supposedly it was to help calm his nerves, but the paladin looked as calm as ever; that meant that there was not much for them to do except make idle chatter until the ceremony started.

Soon it was time, so with one last joking warning from Chrom not to get too comfortable with his wife - who was the maid of honor - the leader of Yllise went to take his seat. Robin meanwhile made one last check for the rings before nodding at Stahl so that he could take his place at the altar.

Lucina sat in the back during the ceremony. She was genuinely curious to get to see a wedding ceremony in person. In her future, marriage was simply accomplished by going to the highest official one could find; there was no time for ceremonies.

Once the music started, everyone stood causing the princess to follow suit. It was a simple procession. She found it strange to see her mother with Robin, but they soon parted ways and made way for the bride. It seemed that Frederick was playing the part of the father.

As the ceremony progressed, she found herself involuntary thinking of herself one day being in such a position herself. She tried to banish those thoughts as effectively as she could; as she knew that such thoughts were wasted on her. Nevertheless, she did allow herself a few moments of happy thoughts before quelling them. She was human after all.

Overall, the wedding was informal yet eloquent, and they soon dismissed into a makeshift reception. She even managed to engage in some idle conversation without things getting too awkward. However, she soon noticed that their tactician was nowhere to be seen.

Confused, she started to look around for the man, and she eventually found him on the edge of camp away from the party; just starring off into space. That was odd. She knew that he was not the most social of people, but he seemed distracted. If it were a tactical matter he would have likely been in his own tent or the command tent, yet here he was.

The princess was uncertain of what to do at first and considered just leaving him to his thoughts, but she decided against that.

"Robin, are you feeling alright?"

"Lucina?" He turned to address her, "Oh, I was just thinking."

"Is it wise to be so far away from the others? You never know when an enemy sniper might be lying in wait."

"Hmph, thanks for the concern," He cracked a slight smirk, but it was gone almost as soon as it had appeared. They simply stood there for several minutes before Robin sighed, "You know, sometimes I just want join in with the others. Be happy, have fun, open up, who knows, maybe even settle down and start a family, but I can't. I can never let myself slip up and have too much emotion.

"Your father and I are opposites in this regard. For him, emotions are a source of strength. He uses them to appeal to his people, and they would probably follow him to the ends of the world. For me, however, they are weakness. They lead to mistakes. To not being able to make the tough calls. Conversely, I cannot allow myself to be compromised if my friends were to be injured or killed. I cannot feel. That could lead to…" The far-off look in his eyes seemed to intensify for a moment, "Death."

Lucina looked on at the tactician, uncertain of what to say. She was uncertain why he was telling her all of this, but she could feel the strain in his words. The strain of all of that repressed emotion welling up just below the surface. She could also feel a pain in those words. A pain of something yet unsaid.

He scoffed, "Sorry, I shouldn't unload this on you. It is my burden to bear. You have enough on your plate without me adding to."

"No, I think I understand. At least, to a degree. I understand the weight of knowing that your decisions could mean the difference between life and death. I know what it's like to keep everyone distant. Even in my own time I kept them away. I never knew when they might die, so I thought it best to keep to myself.

"Even amongst my friends I found myself closed off. I only ever really opened up with one person."

"Boyfriend?" Robin ventured a guess.

"No, my…sister."

"You never said anything about a sister."

"I know. If I had, my parents would almost certainly insist upon finding her, and while I desperately want to see her and know that she is safe, we have a task ahead of us that is bigger than me or my sister. Bigger than all of us."

Several minutes of silence followed, "I think I should turn in for the night," Robin made to leave, "And…thank you."

He left before Lucina could say anything else, leaving her to ponder their conversation. She started to wonder if perhaps she could help him while he helped her. He was clearly carrying more than he liked to show. Maybe she could understand some of his burden. Maybe she could even help him to bear it. Maybe they both needed a friend.

* * *

The day after the wedding was nothing spectacular. Business went on as usual as the Ylisseans continued toward Steiger and the Shepherds went about their day as usual. Except for the fact that a certain tactician has been remaining even more distant than usual.

Most of them did not notice; however, Lucina did, and she surmised that it had to do with what he had said the night before. She did not seek him out however, as that would probably only make matters worse. No, she would wait until her nightly report.

Soon enough, the princess walked into the tactician's tent. Robin had been dreading this all day, but it had to be done. Lucina gave her report calmly, too calmly. After she was done, they both remained silent, waiting for the other one to make a move.

Robin was the first one to break the silence, "I want to apologize about last night."

"Apologize? What for?"

"I acted inappropriately. My problems are my own, and I should not push them on a subordinate, especially one who already has so many problems of their own to deal with."

"Really, Robin, it's fine."

"No," He said a bit too quickly for his liking, "It's not. 'Venting' is not a luxury that I can afford."

"Why not?" She knew very well why, or at least, she thought she did.

"Because, it could lead to me making mistakes if I let someone get too close. Last night was a moment of weakness brought on by the occasion, and that is what it must stand."

"Would having a friend really be all that bad?"

"I have friends," Robin defended.

"No," Lucina shook her head, "You don't; not a real one anyway."

"You said yourself that you are almost as removed as I am."

"You're right, I am. I never even let my closest allies know what I'm feeling because I have to be strong," The princess sighed, "Perhaps we both need a friend. I know that you are worried about making a mistake, but you don't have to. I think that you are a good enough tactician to not make such a mistake, and I fully understand the risks of war; better than most I would wager. I also believe that on some level, I understand your pain."

"It's not just tactics…" Robin trailed off, "I'm sorry, but if it's a friend you need, then I suggest you look elsewhere."

"Very well," She stood up rigidly, "If that is your decision," The princess left the tactician to his plans. Once she was gone he took a look at the maps before sighing as he put his head in his hands. He had dedicated himself to helping her open up, and here he was turning down her offering to do just that.

There was no choice, at least, that was what he kept telling himself. He genuinely enjoyed her company - sometimes more than he would admit. What had started as a form of pity had shifted to a sense of empathy, to even familiarity. Their similar conditions and mindsets had given each of them a unique perspective. Their nightly talks had actually become highlights of his days, and he had gotten to know her better than he knew most.

Despite these facts, he could not risk it. Even if he could keep his emotions and his tactics separate, there was a whole other issue. He could not afford another episode. He had no idea what he was capable of, and it terrified him.

Still, he was surprisingly tempted by her offer. He had longed for friendship many times before. Special events stung him especially deep, but he knew that he could never risk it; even after war. He always quelled it, but this time, though, things seemed different. Through his efforts to increase her sociability, he had unwittingly gotten to know her well-possibly better than he knew anyone else. From her utter incomprehension of seemingly common things to her terrible fashion sense to her admirable dedication to her family to her detachment from those around her.

No, he shook his head, he could not get close…to anyone. He had to keep everyone safe, and if that meant no friends - no true friends at least - then so be it.

* * *

Most of the Shepherds were busy preparing for the assault on Steiger. Say'ri had provided the key to getting through the fort's impressive defenses in the form of her contacts within the Empire who would open the gates and allow their forces to take the fortress. While the main forces were taking the complex as a whole, the Shepherds were assigned to taking the command center itself. Despite the approaching conflict, the Shepherds remained as happy as usual, or they at least did a good job of hiding any trepidation.

Robin had buried himself into the attack plans for the past few days. He had planned everything from the team formations to the rendezvous with the rebel forces who would be entering through the cellar below - they had spent quite a while memorizing the layout. His interactions with a certain princess tended to remain distant. To her credit, Lucina had tried to continue their previous relationship, but Robin was too conflicted to do so himself.

He hated being so cold despite having apparently earned her trust, but she did not know just how dangerous he could be if he lost control. Even the slightest chance of that happening was a terrifying prospect, especially if he got even worse than before.

The Shepherd's assault was going as expected. Robin's group was taking the western side of the central building while Frederick led the eastern team and Chrom cut up the middle. The tactician was pleased to see that he and Lucina were still an effective team - much better than when they had started fighting together. In fact, they had just finished clearing one of the main chambers when Donnel came up to them.

"Donnel, what are you doing here? You're supposed to be with Chrom."

"Sorry, but his highness wants you to meet him before he fights the general."

"Alright, we're about done here. Lucina," He called to the princess who had been keeping an eye on the chamber, "You're in charge. Make sure the rebels know where to go and what to do when they get here."

She simply nodded her understanding and went about making sure that the area was secure as Robin followed Donnel toward Chrom's group.

* * *

Lucina was standing ready in the chamber when the sound of a floor tile moving caught her attention. The rebels were soon emerging from the hidden entrances under the floor and filling the room. Lucina made to greet them, but she stopped short. Something was not right. They looked especially uneasy.

"Who is in charge here?" Lucina eyed the group suspiciously.

"That would be me," A man approached her, "I take it you have our orders."

"Yes, I–" She noticed his had shaking above the hilt of his blade, "Is there a problem? You seem uneasy."

"N-no, no problem. I'm just nervous is all."

"The area is clear."

"Still, it's quite nerve racking. Going against the Empire and all that."

"I see."

Lucina eyed the rebel forces. The bowmen had their bows pulled back and the others had their hands on their weapons. She looked back at the leader, "Very well, follow me." She turned around and started back to where the other Shepherds were. However, the sound of steel being drawn caused her to round with incredible speed and catch the traitor's blade with her own.

Time seemed to almost stop in that moment as the two forces stared at their leaders. The Shepherds were the first to react, though, and were soon standing at the ready with the traitors following suit.

"Why!?" Lucina demanded as she pulled her blade back and began to combat their leader as the Shepherds began to confront their new enemies.

"We had no choice!" He brought his blade down in an overhead swing.

Lucina deftly dodged her attacker and stared him down with her cerulean eyes before charging at her foe.

* * *

Robin stared down at the defeated general - Pheros he believed her name was - Chrom had dealt the final blow himself while the others gave him cover. She was a good mage, but in the end she proved not good enough.

As they walked out of the general's room they were beset with reports of the rebels turning traitorous. Fortunately, the eastern team had suppressed them and forced a retreat back into the cavernous cellar below before blocking their entrance. They were currently moving to help the western group where the bulk of the traitors had appeared.

"Lucina!" Chrom exclaimed before charging off for the combat area with Sumia following.

With a cooler head, Robin took charge of the remaining Shepherds, "Shepherds! With me."

* * *

Lucina clearly outclassed the enemy leader, however, she was soon beset by two more turncoats which complicated matters. She managed to dispatch the two underlings before being caught off guard by one more strike from the leader.

She managed to bring Falchion up to defend herself, but her grip was not what it should have been causing the blade to be knocked out of her hands. Almost immediately, she pulled a dagger from her boot, but she was not looking forward to a sword fight with a dagger. Fortunately, the rest of the Shepherds soon arrived forcing the traitors to retreat.

However, much to Lucina's horror, she saw one of the former rebels pick up her Falchion on his way out. Determined not to let them get away with the ancient blade, she ran after them while grabbing a fallen combatant's sword on her way into the maze-like basement.

* * *

"This is not good," Robin stated the obvious as he received reports that the turncoats had surrounded their location.

"Ay, I feel I must take responsibility for this," Say'ri responded in shame.

"Right now we need to focus on finding a way out of here," Robin looked over to worried looking Chrom who was apparently searching the chamber, "Chrom, what are you doing?"

"I can't find Lucina anywhere," He looked understandably troubled, refusing to look at the corpses strewn around the room.

"Have you tried asking the members of her party?"

"Er, no…"

"Then let's start there," Chrom was clearly not going to focus until they found her. Robin admitted that it was a bit odd that she was not with the others, but he figured that her parents had been keeping her occupied. She could take care of herself though.

"You said you had news?" Chrom hastily inquired of the tactician.

"Yes, it would seem that she followed the traitors into the underground."

"What? Why would she do that?"

"That, I don't know."

"Well, we have to go after her!"

"Sir Chrom," Say'ri interrupted, "The underground is very complicated. I highly advise against going down there."

"I can't just leave her!"

"We won't," Robin replied calmly, "I'll go get her."

"Sir Robin, did you not hear what I just said?"

"Yes, but I memorized the layout. Besides, I am her partner. I am the logical choice."

Say'ri remained speechless at the fact that he had memorized the entire layout in a matter of days whereas most could study for months and still get lost.

"Fine, but you better bring her back," Chrom agreed.

Robin nodded solemnly as he went to the passage. He stared down the dark hidden passage before taking the steps down into the maze.

* * *

Upon entering the tunnels, Robin was presented with the challenge of finding one person in a labyrinth potentially filled with enemy combatants. However, he could not do much of anything until he could find a light source; even though he did not like the idea of making himself easier to find. Fortunately, there was no shortage of discarded torches littering the floor - likely left by the traitors from when they came through.

A single fire spell later, Robin began his trek through the maze. Tracking Lucina was not really the problem - he just followed the trail of carnage. No, the real problem laid in getting back out, and he really doubted that she was making notes on her way in. Still, she had a significant lead on him which meant that it might take him a while to catch up.

* * *

The tactician had been walking for a while - he was not quite sure how long - when he finally heard the sound of fighting causing him to hasten. Soon he saw the light of torches as he approached the conflict. Sure enough, Lucina was just finishing the last of her opponents as he rounded the corner.

She quickly turned to face him expecting another enemy, but she quickly lowered her guard when she recognized who it was, "Robin?" She asked as she approached, "What are you doing here?"

"Me? I came to get you. Why are you here?"

"One of the dynasts stole Falchion after it was knocked from my grasp so I gave chase. I reacquired it some time back, but I have been having…difficulties getting back."

"Obviously. It's a maze down here. That's why I made it very clear, at least I thought I did, that no one was to come down here." He was not an idiot; he realized Falchion's importance, and, under normal circumstances, he would agree that it was of the utmost importance that it be recovered. However, these were not ordinary circumstances; they were in the unique position of having two of them, and, honestly, he was not even sure if Lucina's Falchion would work for what they may need it.

"I know, but I could not bear to lose Falchion," She looked down at her blade before directing her attention back to the tactician, "My father died when I was young, and it is the last thing that I have to remember him by; I **had** to get it back."

"Lucina," His tone softened. He did not have any memories of his parents - if Validar was to be trusted, then he was not sure that he wanted to remember. Regardless, he had wondered about his parents more than once; in a sense, he could relate.

He did not say anything else on the matter though. Lucina sharing such things made him feel…guilty? For she was giving, but he was not. So, he decided to start back towards the others. They traveled in silence on their way back to the entrance; however, Robin noticed something as they were walking and stopped.

"What is it?" Lucina inquired as Robin started to look around at the walls.

"I felt a breeze."

"A breeze? Could we be close to an exit?"

"We shouldn't be," His hand stopped over a spot where the bricks were cracked, "Here, there's something behind this wall. It must have been left over from an earlier version of the fort, or maybe another structure entirely. If the breeze is any indication, it must lead outside, and if it's not in the plans then the dynasts might not know about it. I think we may have just found our way out of here."

* * *

"That's great!" Chrom was definitely in a better mood since Robin had returned with his daughter, and the news of another way out of the fort did not hurt.

"There's still the problem of the two armies headed for us though," Robin reminded the others.

"Oh, yeah," Chrom rubbed his chin, "Say'ri, what can you tell us of Yen'fay's forces?"

"Aye, they are said to rival the Emperor's own. We are ill equipped to face them."

"We cannot forget that the Emperor is likely well on his way here already," Flavia added, "No matter which one we engage, the other would run us down before we were finished."

"Then we fight both," Robin suggested causing momentary silence.

"Are you mad!?" Basillio was the first to break the silence, "We couldn't win with double our number, and you want to divide us in half?"

"No," Robin looked at the others with solemn eyes, "Not half. I suggest that we send a diversionary force to keep Walhart busy with hit and run attacks combined with guerilla warfare."

"Spend lives to buy time, eh?" Basillio's expression was unreadable.

"I don't like it, but it's our best option."

"I reluctantly agree," Chrom said, all traces of his previous elation gone as the others quietly consented, "But the unit will need a brave commander, almost reckless even."

"Enough, enough, I'll do it!" Basillio hardily bellowed.

"Basillio, are you sure?" Robin asked the west khan, "Even with hit and run and guerilla tactics, this is, for all intents and purposes, a suicide mission."

"Bah! I'll be fine. I fully–"

He was interrupted by an uncharacteristically alarmed Lucina, "Please reconsider, Khan Basillio!"

"What's got you so riled up?"

"I happen to know for a fact that you perish in this mission. It's one of the few things I know about this campaign: how the mighty Khan Basillio fell to the Conqueror's axe in order to buy the rest time."

Much to Lucina's surprise, Basillio let out a hardy laugh, "Is that it? Fine, I'll just avoid Walhart then. Problem solved!"

"But–"

"Worry not," Flavia interposed, "I'll keep him safe."

"No you won't!" Basillio shot back, "You're the reigning khan!"

"Which means that you cannot order me not to go," Flavia responded with a triumphant smirk.

"Fine! Do what you want!" He stormed out of the room with Flavia hot on his trails leaving a worried Lucina behind.

"Don't worry," Chrom placed his hand on her shoulder, "Those two are tough. They'll be fine."

Robin, however, simply watched on as he wondered why she seemed so affected by this.

* * *

The mages made short work of the wall, and they were soon breathing fresh air once again. Robin saw Basillio and Flavia's unit off while providing some final tactics to help mitigate casualties.

That night saw Lucina coming in for her nightly report once again, but she looked incredibly distracted.

"Lucina," Robin took a breath for what he was about to do, "I-I wanted you to know that, I do understand why you went back for Falchion. As someone with no memories, I can understand the desire to want to hold on to what memories you do have.

"Anyway, I just wanted you to know that. I also understand that if you think less of me after today. I just hope that it will not hurt our work."

Lucina looked confused, "Why would I think less of you?"

"I sent those soldiers to their deaths, Lucina."

"Robin, I saw the sorrow in your eyes. I know that you would not suggest something like that if you did not think that it was the best course of action. I don't believe that you wanted to do it, and I saw you giving them every advantage you could."

After looking at each other for several moments, Robin sighed, "I've been giving this some thought, and…I think that I would be willing to be a bit more open. I still have some reservations, but I think that after your efforts you deserve as much." He was screaming at himself that this was a bad idea. That it could lead to the mire all over again.

"Thank you, I know that wasn't easy."

"Well, I think we had best get some sleep."

"Right"

Once she was gone Robin started to prepare for bed, hoping that he was not making a terrible mistake, but he had not had any indications of another incident in over two years. Perhaps he could afford a friend.

 **A/N: Cynthia in Heroes! Woot. I gave her a brazen build which I don't think any of my other lance fliers have. At least she'll give me a use for grails.**

 **Oh, and Banjo in Smash! Finally, some DLC I actually want to buy (not counting Plant which I got for free)! Could still use some first party DLC though. Dragon Quest isn't a terrible choice (better than Joker in my opinion), but I don't care about it, I don't really like the art style, and it's another third party. Granted, so are Banjo and Kazooie, but they have quite the Nintendo appeal (and aren't from an RPG, lack much if any of a gimmick, and probably have more personality about them). The "Heroes" also seem pretty bland and they ripped off the Links shields. Then again, I think Joker is too.**

 **Okay, Smash rant over. However, BotW2...and hopefully Ganondorf. If he is prominent, then that alone will probably make me like it more than the first one**


	15. Wave 5

Things were not looking good for the Shepherds. They had to act fast to capitalize on the time that Basillio and Flavia were buying them, but Robin knew that they would have to choose their battleground carefully. Reading up on the local geography, he began to formulate an idea; it was a longshot, but it was the best one they had.

The destination would take several days to reach. The fact that they had to try and stay as out of sight as possible slowed down their travel. Still, the relatively easy marching may have helped morale slightly as tensions had been running high, even in the Shepherds.

As they stopped for the night, Robin continued his work on his battle plan. After a while, Lucina came in - right on time. He would be lying if he said he had no trepidation about his decision the night before, but there was no going back now.

"Greetings, Robin."

"Greetings," He looked up from his papers. He needed to relax. He knew from experience that simply talking to someone would not induce an episode. No, it was if something went wrong that he became at risk.

She took note of the map in front of the tactician, "Are planning our confrontation with Yen'fay?"

"Oh, yes," He took the map out and pointed to a mountain, "I plan to engage there. Local legend says that it is not place that you want to go which makes it exactly where we should go."

"Why is that?"

"It means that a lot of Yen'fay's forces won't want to go. Even if he can make them, they will certainly not be fighting at their best; at least, that's the plan. Apparently, the terrain is fairly unforgiving as well so we may be able to take advantage of that if we get there first. If we can exploit Yen'fay's pride and lure him out, then we may even be able to end this swiftly and minimize casualties."

Robin caught Lucina smiling, "What?"

"You really do care; even if you don't like to show it."

"Hmph, I am a maestro of death. Take the Valmese fleet for example. I orchestrated the death of thousands, and then there were the units I sent to stall the other forces for us to advance."

She shook her head, "I don't believe that. You make hard decisions, but I don't believe that you enjoy it. You look to avoid casualties, but you cannot stop them entirely. You did not choose to start this war, so do not blame yourself for the horrors it has spawned; the horrors that you are working to stop. I don't think that you are a 'maestro of death' as you put it."

"Then who am I?"

"I'm not sure, but I'm curious to find out."

"Hmph, we'll see. Now if you'll excuse me, I must finish up for the night."

"Of course."

Who he was, huh? He was not quite sure he knew the answer to that himself anymore. He had spent so long suppressing his emotions and keeping a certain distance from everyone that he began to wonder if that was who he was now.

He knew he had a good reason for doing it, but he often wished to go back to living relatively normally. Still, he had maintained his stoicism for over two years, but now he found himself struggling to maintain it. Why was it that she was able to wear him down where everyone else had failed?

He did feel a certain…empathy for her situation, but was that enough? No, probably not. What really appealed to him was when she opened up and shared something. That in and of itself was nothing too special - people seemed to think him trustworthy enough to share their problems with from time to time - but with her it was different.

She, much like himself, was a very closed off individual. The fact that this young woman was willing to open up to him and revisit certainly unpleasant memories…moved him. He had long thought himself beyond being susceptible to things such as friendship to the point that he began to mistake acquaintance and familiarity for it. Even his once good friend Chrom was no more than a good acquaintance, and yet a woman with next to no people skills had managed to remind him of these things - of the values he once held dear.

He - like Chrom and the others - had once viewed friendship and emotion as a source of strength, but after he lost control he began to distance himself because he knew that if he lost a friend, then he would certainly be worse off than after losing a near stranger.

Now, however, things seemed less certain as he continued to remember himself.

* * *

Lucina started her day just like any other. She awoke early and prepared for the day's march. The double duty shifts really did not bother her as she was used to little sleep and a lot of work. She had even started to adjust to the Shepherd's antics as strange as they were; though they were in reality probably tamer than her own allies…for the most part.

During march she usually took up the rear. Her company varied, but today she found herself alone which was known to happen on occasion. She took the time to once again rack her mind for anything that she may have heard on the Valmese campaign for whatever it may be worth.

She felt so useless not being able to help with their current war. True, her mission was concerning another, far more pressing, matter, but she really wanted to be more than just one more soldier in the mix. She already felt like a failure due to Emmeryn and now Basilio, what proof was there that anything had truly changed? Was she failing at her true mission too?

No, she would not let herself think that way, not while there was still hope. Things were different. Her father was in the best shape she had ever seen him, and despite having no leads on her father's murderer, she would continue her search until she found the culprit. Perhaps one of the biggest advantages they had was that they knew what was going to happen now so they had time to prevent it. Robin would certainly find a way to stop Grima with what she had provided about the future.

Robin. She had put a lot of faith in him - much more than she had expected to. At first he was a suspect to be investigated, but then he earned her trust and became one of her best allies in the fight against time itself.

She could see his dedication to the Shepherds. It reminded her of her own dedication to the Shepherd's children. They both cared about those under them, even if they did not show it. So when she realized that he was determined to help her with even her social issues despite his aversion to said issues, she felt the need to reciprocate. She knew it was illogical considering her plans to stay away from everyone in this time as much as she could, but she felt unusually comfortable around the tactician. For the first time in a very long time, she let herself have a guilty pleasure. Still, he did not seem to want a friend; sometimes she wondered if perhaps she should just give up.

Lucina's reverie was broken when she noticed a horse pulling up beside her. She recognized the rider as he dismounted and walked alongside the princess.

"Robin? What are you doing here?"

"Thought I might give you some company. Of course if you'd rather march alone, I could leave."

"No, it's just…unusual is all."

"Heh, I know," He looked ahead into the mass of Shepherds before looking back to Lucina, "You have really given me a lot to think about you know?"

"What do you mean?"

"I had let myself believe that acquaintance was the same thing as friendship, but you challenged that. I had spent so long as a prisoner to myself that I almost lost myself. I started to wonder if I'm really more effective from a distance; if losing myself is what has to be paid in order for us to win."

"And what did you decide?"

He looked forward again, "I haven't, but…I'm willing to try. On a limited basis."

"So you are willing to be friends?"

"…Yes."

"I don't know much about friendship," Lucina made sure that he was serious.

"Well, I'm a bit rusty myself," He smiled at her, a genuine smile, "Two antisocial people trying to figure out friendship; what could go wrong?"

* * *

Robin and Lucina were having a casual conversation during the march the next day; letting things progress naturally. Robin may have been rusty, but he knew enough to just let the conversation flow while occasionally directing it away from potentially sensitive subjects.

He was honestly surprised by how easily they conversed. He had not felt so free in his conversation in a long time, possibly ever, and he had to admit that if felt nice to loosen up a bit. That did not mean that he forgot his previous concerns - they were still quite valid in his eyes - but he was enjoying it nonetheless.

The tactician was distracted by Lucina letting out a yawn. She tried to cover it up, but it was to no avail.

"You okay?"

"Pardon me, I'm just a little tired."

"Understandable, you've been working a double shift while we're on the run; not to mention your…side project."

"It is a small price to pay in order to prevent Grima's return."

"That may be, but will it be worth it if you collapse from exhaustion and become unable to fight?"

She looked at him briefly before turning her attention back to march, "I can manage."

"Maybe, but if it gets to be too much, don't hesitate to let me know."

"Given our newfound relationship, I do not think that that would be appropriate."

"Your mission is more important than appearances. Just try to get some more sleep, alright?"

She looked at him intently for a moment, "I will try."

"I'll take it."

* * *

"You killed her!"

"N-no, I tried–" Robin protested weakly.

"But you failed!" The shadowy figure bellowed, "Look at what your failure has wrought!" The figure gestured to the distraught Shepherds. Lissa refused to move and had to be carried by Frederick while the great knight himself maintained an air of professional detachment, but he was clearly upset. Chrom refused to utter a single word as he marched on in an eerily autonomous and lifeless manner.

"It's all your fault. You were insufficient. You promised them that you would succeed. You failed."

"I-I…"

"What makes you think that you won't fail them again? Who dies next? Chrom? Lissa? Sumia?" Before him flashed visions of the Shepherds, all dead, "And when they do, what then?"

"Robin, why?" Came a new voice from behind him. He turned to see Lucina, injured, bleeding…dying, "Why, Robin?" She gasped out with her last breath, and as he went to catch her now limp body, he noticed something on his hands: blood - her blood."

"I didn't–"

"Didn't what?" The shadowy figure returned, "Didn't mean to be a monster? At least last time they were your enemies, but what if it happens again? Can you guarantee that any of them will survive the onslaught? What if it's your new friend who goes first?"

"Stop!"

"Why!? Unwilling to accept what might happen if you lose control?"

"I-I won't–"

"Are you sure? Because you better be! Last time, the pain was indirect. Imagine what a direct loss could make you do? Whole armies, gone," He snapped his fingers, "Just like that." The figure chuckled darkly, "Well, maybe not quite that easy."

"Stop it!" Robin charged the figure and tackled him to the ground where the figure quickly overpowered him, but not before Robin knocked his hood down. Robin stood speechless as his own face sent him a demeaning smirk.

"What's the matter? Don't like what you see?"

* * *

Robin sat up with a start as he reigned in his breathing. Looking around he managed to determine that he was in his tent. The tactician slowly stood up, grabbed his coat, and made for the mess tent.

He had not had a nightmare like that in a long time. Needless to say, it was unsettling. He kept telling himself that it was just a dream, but that did not make the images any less chilling, or the words sting any less.

He lit a small candle in the mess tent and went about scrounging up anything he could find. He quickly poured himself a cup of water and just sat at one of the empty tables as he sipped it. A noise outside the tent caught his attention and he warily directed his attention toward the entrance as a familiar princess walked in.

"Lucina? What are you doing up? Weren't you going to try and get some more sleep?"

"I did, but I had some…trouble sleeping and decided to patrol around camp."

"Bad dreams?" The princess hesitantly nodded, "Me too. Pull up a chair, maybe some company will help."

The two stayed and talked for quite a while. They discussed things ranging from Robin's battle plans to their favorite foods. It was an enjoyable distraction for both of them, but they eventually decided that they needed to try and get some more sleep, so they parted ways.

For his part, Robin felt at ease; his dream but a memory as he slept soundly.

* * *

Robin suppressed a yawn as he continued to analyze the maps and tactical guides laid out in front of him. He had been working longer hours in preparation for their confrontation with Yen'fay, and it was starting to take its toll even if he did not want to admit it.

He shook himself to ward off the coming drowsiness. He promised himself that he would finish up soon…an hour earlier. He would not let himself stop though; he felt that he was close to a breakthrough. Just a little longer…

He was startled awake by the sound of the wakeup call. Looking around him revealed that he had fallen asleep at his desk. He stood up to prepare for the march when he noticed something fall off of him: a blanket.

Odd, he did not remember grabbing that. He tossed the blanket onto his cot. While a mystery, Robin dismissed it since if the intruder was malicious, they probably would not have placed a blanket on him. The tactician rationalized that, in all likelihood, he was feeling chilly and grabbed it before he dozed off. Though he may still want to speak with Frederick about camp security.

The day's march was nothing spectacular. He spent most of his time at the front of the column - he was still a high-ranking member of the military. He came close to making some sly comments several times which caused him to pause and think about how it came almost reflexively, but all in all it was a normal march.

That night, Lucina came in on time and they talked for a while. As she was leaving, she turned expectantly and addressed the tactician, "How late do you usually stay up at night?"

"Huh?" That was a strange question, "I'd say about midnight on average."

"Do you normally sleep at your desk?"

"How did you…"

"I had trouble sleeping again last night and walked around camp again to see that your tent was still lit. When I came to investigate you were lying on your desk asleep."

"Well, I may have been up later than usual refining my battle strategy."

"Is that the only time this has happened?"

"It…" He looked at her serious demeanor and sighed, "No, I've been putting in extra time since we left Steiger."

"I see, if you require more time, then perhaps we should cut our conversations shorter."

"No," Robin found himself saying far too quickly, "I'll be fine. Trust me, I'm used to long nights."

"The last thing we need is an exhausted tactician," She looked at him hard, "Besides, I don't think that it's an unreasonable request that you take care of yourself."

They both knew exactly what she meant, and she was right. "Fine," The tactician sighed, "I will get some more sleep, but don't think that means that you're getting rid of me that easily!"

She let out a small chuckled in spite of herself, "Very well, I will see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night," Robin replied with a mixture of sincerity and sarcasm. Once she was gone, Robin looked at the reports on his desk before blowing out the candle. A promise was a promise.

* * *

Robin surveyed the mountain; it would do nicely. The volcanic nature of it certainly was foreboding, but he believed that he could use that to their advantage. At that very moment soldiers were busy entrenching themselves into the far side of the mountain. The natural barriers meant that to get to them Yen'fay before they could retreat would have to go straight through the crater which just so happened to be filled with magma, unstable rock formations, and thick ash clouds. It was certainly an unpleasant battle ground. However, desperate times called for desperate measures, and this certainly qualified.

In the pre-battle meeting, Robin laid out his plan, "Chrom, you're going to take point and head straight for Yen'fay, assuming he takes the bait."

"Aye," Say'ri spoke up, "His pride will force his hand. He will come."

"Right, then the rest of us will need to provide Chrom with support. The climb combined with our traps should wear them out a bit, but our biggest advantage is the small space inside the crater. It will serve as a bottleneck and force Yen'fay to come at as with reduced numbers, but they'll probably be the best he has so stay alert. I don't want anyone getting careless and dying out there. The terrain will be hostile as well, and it will be more miserable than usual. As a safety precaution I am limiting flight over the magma pockets. Only go over them if you absolutely have to. Also, stick close to your partner; the gasses in there are incredibly thick so I want you to have someone close at all times. Dismissed."

Robin continued to look at his laid-out plan, "Something on your mind?"

"Hmm?" Robin turned to Lucina who had stayed behind, "Just thinking if there was anything I missed."

"It will work."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, but it's my job to make sure beyond a doubt."

"Well, I am from the future."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you don't remember much about this war," Robin smirked triumphantly.

"I know that Ylisse won, though things are different here."

"See? Besides, the moment that I become overconfident is when I become the most vulnerable. I learned that one the hard way…"

"Robin," She reached out to comfort him when a call interrupted them.

"Valmese sighted!"

The two looked at each other with serious eyes; it was time.

* * *

Yen'fay stood looking at the top of the ash-obscured crater. It was clearly a trap. Unfortunately, the rest of the mountain range was even more rugged. A siege was out of the question as there were villages beyond the mountains where they could resupply. A naval assault would have taken too long to implement, and that was assuming that they actually had any navy to work with.

These Ylisseans intrigued him. They had devastated the Valmese navy, and actually managed repeated victories against the Empire. Large portions of their forces had been defeated of course - which was the main part that was reported to the common people in the capitol with the defeats remaining mostly as whispers in the wind - yet they still continued to resist.

Perhaps they were the ones that he had been hoping for. He wanted them to win, he truly did, but to hold back would be to set them up for failure. So, he would engage them. He would observe, and, if they proved worthy, then the Empire may soon meet its end.

He drew his blade, "Honor guard, advance!"

* * *

Lucina dispatched the Valmese swordmaster with almost frightening precision, however, a knight decided to take advantage of the situation and charged for her. His charge did not last long though, as he was soon knocked from his mount by an Arcthunder bolt.

"You have my gratitude," Lucina breathed out. They had been fighting their way through the crater where Yen'fay was commanding his troops and were meeting heavy resistance. Robin and Lucina were a force to be reckoned with, however, as they led their team through the enemy ranks.

"We're a bit ahead of schedule," Robin pointed out, "Everyone take a quick rest, but remember to stay alert."

"How do you stand to wear that thick coat?" Lucina asked as she took a swig of her water.

"Mental discipline I suppose."

"I have never been one for the heat," Lucina commented as she wiped her brow.

"Why is that?"

"I guess I have just become accustomed the cold of my future. The sun rarely ever broke through the thick layer of ash caused by the immense destruction that Grima wrought," Her eyes became distant as she spoke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dredge up unpleasant memories."

"It's alright, you didn't mean to. Besides, it helps me to stay focused when I remember what is at stake."

"I don't think you need much help to stay focused," Robin commented lightly.

"I might surprise you," She responded cryptically, but before he could ask her what she meant, a yell came from the rock path across from them.

"Hey!" It was Chrom, "We've got a problem. The path collapsed before we could get there."

"Hmm, you'll have to go around. Meet up with Frederick and proceed from there; assuming that his path is still clear. We'll go on ahead since we don't know when the ground could give way."

"Alright, see you there," He turned around and led his troops back the way they came.

"Looks like we're on our own for now," Robin prepared to depart, "Let's move out."

* * *

Robin took point with Lucina at his flank watching the ash clouds for any sign of movement. They continued to meet resistance, but it was nothing that they could not handle. It was not long before they neared the exit of the crater. One more fairly steep pathway was all that stood between them and – presumably - the enemy commander.

Robin almost made it to the top when the ground became unstable and started to crumble into the pool of magma below. In one quick motion, Robin jumped to safety and watched as the pathway finished falling apart leaving him stranded apart from his team.

"Robin!" Lucina called from the other side of the gap.

"I'm fine," Robin replied as he dusted himself off, "Go meet up with Chrom, there should be another way up here from that side."

"Alright," Lucina nodded, "I'll be there as soon as I can. Stay safe," She began leading the group to rendezvous with her father.

Meanwhile Robin turned his attention to the stirring cloud behind him, "Easier said than done."

* * *

Robin was breathing heavily as he finished off the last of Yen'fay's guard. He turned to the man as he downed the last of his vulnerary.

"Before we begin, I want to ask you, why do you fight?" The general approached with his sword drawn.

"What?" Robin breathed out.

"Why are you fighting this war?"

"To stop Walhart and protect our people as well as to liberate the people of Valm."

"I see," He remained totally unreadable, "What is your rank, soldier?"

"I am the Grandmaster of Ylisse."

Yen'fay looked slightly surprised at the revelation, "Why would you fight on the front lines?"

"I guess you could say that I have a hands-on approach. No leader should ask someone to do something that they wouldn't do themselves."

"I see, a refreshing change of pace," Robin shot him a confused look which the commander shrugged off, "Walhart's head tactician does not share your view. I am curious, tactician, why do you fight personally?"

"Let's just say that I have a debt to pay," Robin brandished his sword and tome, "And I will not let you destroy my home!"

"Let us see if that will be enough!" Yen'fay quickly brandished his weapon and charged the tactician. He was incredibly fast and surprisingly strong, but Robin held his own against the swordmaster if just barely. His versatility was one of his greatest strengths, but Yen'fay knew that as well and sliced his Arcthunder in two.

Robin backed off as he pulled out his Arcfire and fired off a blast to put some space between them, but the reprieve was over all too quickly when Yen'fay sidestepped the fire and knocked the tome out of Robin's hand and into the lave below. Robin attempted to deflect his attacks, but Yen'fay was too quick to change his attacks keeping Robin from getting a good read on his movements and was getting in several cuts and scrapes. Robin finally went down when Yen'fay landed a particularly deep cut on his abdomen.

Holding his side, Robin looked behind him to see that he had nowhere to run as he was on the edge of the rock with the nearest solid ground several yards away.

"Disappointing," Yen'fay slowly approached. Robin supposed that he was not strong enough after all. Not that it mattered, the others would finish what he had started. Maybe they would do better without him anyway; he was a potential liability after all. They deserved someone better: they deserved a friend.

"Robin!" The tactician looked back to see Lucina standing on the path below him with a look of utter terror on her face. Robin looked into her eyes as time seemed to slow down. He saw genuine concern. She cared; they all did he realized in that moment as he looked back on his time with them. Suddenly it was no longer a matter of if they could win without him, but it was a matter of leaving them behind. His death would affect them; more than he had thought it would. They never gave up on him no matter how much he hid from them; it was time that he returned the favor.

Gritting his teeth, he cast his last tome – Arcwind - with unprecedented speed. Yen'fay flinched, but nothing came for he was not the target. Robin had fired the spell into the magma below causing a shower of flame and embers to blow upon the swordmaster. While he was distracted, the tactician charged him with renewed vigor.

"You asked me why I fight," Robin grunted as he started to match Yen'fay blow for blow, "I fight for them! For everyone who counts on me! For those who would miss me if I died!" He accentuated his words with a particularly strong overhead strike, "I will not abandon them now, and I won't lose to you!"

Robin started to read Yen'fay with unprecedented precision and he began to see a weakness in his style. Capitalizing on this weakness, the tactician made one final thrust as Yen'fay brought his blade down.

"Y-you'll do just fine," Yen'fay whispered as his blade dropped to the ground, "You must f-free my people. Use that resolve and slay Walhart!"

"You worked for the Empire," Robin looked at the fallen commander.

"I w-will make no excuses for what I have done. It is true t-that chose to fight for the Conqueror. They threatened m-my sister and would have overrun my people, so to protect my only family and my nation, I sided with the enemy, but I have been waiting for someone who might be able to topple the Empire and free my people. I believe that to be you."

"My second in command is waiting for my orders just outside. Tell him, 'Freedom from tyranny.' He will understand." He weakly slid his sword over to the tactician, "Please make sure that my sister gets this; it is hers now, as is the responsibility that comes with it.

Robin looked at the dying man in an attempt to see if he was trying to deceive him, but the swordmaster seemed aware of his struggle, "I know that you have no reason to trust me, but, please, whatever you do, please keep my sister safe, she is all that I have left."

Robin nodded, "Of course."

"I leave the fate of my people and my soldiers in your hands… I humbly ask that you do not judge them for my actions…I ask that you spare them."

His words struck an eerily painful cord for the tactician as he replied, "I will."

* * *

"Robin!" Said tactician turned to face the approaching princess as she hurriedly ran over to him.

"Lucina, it's good to see that you're safe."

"Me?" She asked incredulously, "I thought you were going to die! What happened? Are you okay?"

"I found myself face to face with Yen'fay and his guard. It was rough, but I'm fine."

"No you're not," She told him as she noticed the several cuts all over him while the particularly nasty ones stained his undershirt red, "You're hurt. We need to get you to a healer."

"Lucina, please," He tried to sound as comforting as possible despite his own discomfort, "I'll be fine, thanks in no small part to you."

The princess looked down dejectedly, "All I did was watch helplessly as you almost died."

"No, you helped to remind me of who I am. When I saw the concern in your eyes, I finally made my choice. No matter what comes, we will face it together, as Shepherds. I realize you were in all likelihood just concerned with loosing another ally, but you helped me nonetheless, and for that, you have my thanks."

"Robin," She looked him straight in the eye, "I was worried about losing another ally on my watch, but I was more concerned with losing my friend."

"Lucina, thank you."

She flashed him a genuine smile of relief as Chrom caught up with the two Shepherds, "There you are!" He let out an exhausted sigh, "I was afraid of the worst when Lucina told me what she saw."

"I'm fine, but that reminds me," Robin looked at the princess, "How did you get here so fast? I thought that I had assigned command of my group to you?"

In that moment she was grateful for the intense heat of the volcano, "I gave Cordelia command and rushed to get here."

"Hmm, that was reckless."

"I'm sorry."

"Kinda reminds me of when I had to rescue a certain princess after she had run off," He smirked and Lucina took that as a sign that he was not angry.

"Well, now that we have the military discipline out of the way," Chrom intervened with the previous exchange going right over his head, "We should get you checked out. You're a mess."

"I have a promise to keep first," Robin started to walk out of the crater with the confused looks of his peers at his back.

* * *

The tactician came face to face with who he presumed to be Yen'fay's second in command when he emerged from the ash. The middle-aged man maintained his stone face as Robin walked up to him alone and without fear despite the army at the man's back.

"'Freedom from tyranny.'"

The other man stood at attention, "Then it is time." He turned to the man to his left, "Give the order. We march immediately."

"Sir?"

"You heard me."

After the other man left he addressed Robin, "Yen'fay deemed you worthy. We will assist you against Walhart. We will coordinate with you to take the capitol."

"The capitol? Walhart will be upon us soon."

"I imagine that news of our turning on him will change that. In any case, we will be there when you need us," With that he started to rejoin his army.

"What will you do in the meantime?"

He turned his head, "We will spread the word: The Empire's days are numbered."

Robin watched as he rejoined his army. It seemed that Yen'fay always intended to betray Walhart. He implanted himself into the Valmese army and prepared for the day when he could oppose Walhart without putting his sister in danger. In other words: he sacrificed his personal feelings and relationships for the good of others.

It was all too familiar to the tactician. He too had done something very similar, but now he was sure that there had to be another way. He would push on, and, together, they would defy their destiny. It was a risk, he knew, but he was tired of playing it safe. Yes, it was time for a little risk. After all, no risk, no reward.

 **A/N: Mario Maker 2! If you're interested, my ID is V94-V6P-98G. Though, be a bit wary of the SMB airship level. It's probably the worst one I have up. Feel free to share any levels with me as well (PM or anonymous reviews preferably).**

 **I also considered leaving a sneak peak of my next major project. I have the rough draft for the first chapter ready. Though, I probably won't post it for some time yet.**


	16. Wave 6

With camp set up for the night, Robin set about preparing for the siege of Valm's capital. Unfortunately, he required food to think properly, so a trip to the mess tent was a necessity. He was eager to get back to work so he was just planning on taking something back to his tent.

He almost made it too, "Hey, Bubbles, whatcha up to?" Gaius strolled up next to the tactician.

"Just trying to keep us alive during the next 72 hours."

"That's cool. So I was wondering–"

"I'm not using war funds to sate your sugar addiction," Robin answered plainly.

"I'm wounded, truly. What if I just wanted to talk?"

Robin eyed him suspiciously, "Alright, what do you want to talk about?"

Not missing a beat, "How about your lady friend?"

"My what?"

"I just thought that you and Blue Jr. were spending a lot of time together…"

Robin looked at the thief incredulously, "You think that me and Lucina…"

"I think I may have hit a nerve," He smirked, "You mean to tell me that you don't like her at least a little?"

"She's nice and all…" Robin replied awkwardly.

"Come on you don't think that she's attractive or anything?"

He was clearly fishing, "You know, I wonder how Chrom would take the news of what you think of her daughter?"

Gaius hesitated for a moment, "I think I have something else to do."

Robin shook his head. How could he think that he had a thing for Lucina. Preposterous…she was Chrom's daughter after all!

* * *

After the Shepherds made camp the next day, Robin was chatting with Lucina when Cordelia walked up.

"Excuse me, Robin, but I was hoping to discuss Pegasus Knight deployment with you."

"Sure," He turned to the princess, "I'll be right back."

After they made it to the war "room" Cordelia spoke up, "I know you must be eager to get back, so I'll make this brief."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What?"

"'I must be eager to get back'?"

"I just thought that you would want to get back to your conversation. You do seem to enjoy her company."

"She's a good friend," Robin replied quickly. Too quickly he realized after the fact.

"Yes," Cordelia replied slowly while giving Robin a strange look, "Any reason as to why you're being so defensive?"

"Defensive? Who's being defensive?" Robin lamely tried to cover.

"You are. Why are you–" She paused as realization dawned on her with a smile, "You like her, don't you?"

"W-what? Aren't you jumping to conclusions here?"

"Well, do you?"

"It would not be appropriate."

"That's not a no."

"Do you need a no?"

"Yes."

"I think she's…Chrom's daughter."

"You _do_ like her!"

"I came here under the assumption that you had business to discuss," Robin put a stop to that line of questioning. Cordelia reluctantly agreed, and they soon worked out what she had to say.

However, Robin was concerned by her accusations. He was concerned, because they were true. He had been trying to deny it, but when faced with a direct question he found that the answer was in fact: yes, he did have romantic feelings for the princess. However, he refused to act on them. She was adamant that she did not belong here, how could he expect her to have developed feelings for him? Besides, it was simply inappropriate. She came from another world, and not only that, she was the daughter of one of his closest friends.

He determined that he would be a friend to her, but he resigned himself to the fate that he would not be any more; no matter how much he wanted to.

* * *

Robin was stumped. He was in a dire situation, and he was not sure what to do. He had to do something though, but what? He would just have to man up and do his best.

"It's certainly…unique."

"See, mother," Lucina looked to Sumia, "I told you it was fashionable." Lucina said that while wearing an utterly abominable "dress." Robin was not sure why she would ever even try such a thing on, let alone buy it with actual money.

"Er, I'm not sure that I'm very qualified to make that call.".

"Lucina, honey," Sumia decided that the tactician had suffered enough, "Maybe you should ask Chrom what he thinks."

"Of course," She left with an unusually large level of enthusiasm to do just that.

"What was that abomination?" Robin asked Sumia once her daughter was out of earshot.

"She found it yesterday when we were out shopping. I didn't think that she actually bought it though."

"Well, in any case it reminded me of something."

"Oh?" The rider perked up.

"And I could use your help."

* * *

While Lucina adored her new dress, she decided that it was time to dawn her battle gear once more so she headed for her tent. However, there was a slight problem with that plan: her "uniform" was missing. Fortunately, she had kept Falchion with her, but a thief in the camp was still inexcusable. She had to tell Robin and her father!

* * *

"So you're sure that this is right?"

"It should be close enough."

"I just want to make sure."

"If you wanted to be so sure, why not ask her to come along?"

"I, uh, may have wanted to surprise her."

"Really?"

"Don't give me that. I just thought I should do something for her. Besides, it is tactically sound."

"Relax," The rider smiled causing the tactician to clear his throat.

"Oh, look, it's ready," He took the bag and proceeded to leave the store. Sumia could not help but let out a small giggle as she followed him. It was truly nice of Robin to do what he was doing, but at the same time he was a lot harder to read than most people. Maybe it was just her romantic imagination running rampant, but Robin never went out of his way this much just to do something nice even before the…incident. A birthday gift, maybe, but never just because he felt like it.

Oh well, perhaps time would tell if she was just imagining things after all.

* * *

When the duo made it back to the Shepherd's camp, they found several Shepherds scurrying all over seemingly looking for something.

"Frederick," Robin called to the passing great knight, "What's going on?"

"Lady Lucina has reported a theft. We are trying to locate any such thief."

"A thief?" Sumia covered her mouth, "Do you think that we–"

"Probably a safe bet," He sighed, "Would you mind sorting this out with Chrom?"

"Sure, just be sure to return it to Lucina," She said as she walked off in search of her husband.

"Sir?" Frederick asked with his brow raised.

"Never mind, where's Lucina? And call off the search."

Robin found Lucina in her own tent looking around for clues as to who their "intruder" was all the while wearing that abomination.

"Lucina?"

"Ah, Robin, there you are! Have you heard about our security breach?"

"Uh, yeah, about that…."

"I do not know what they hope to accomplish with such a specific theft, but such a breach in security puts us all at risk."

"Actually, there was no breach in security."

"What?"

"I'm the one who took your battle clothes," That probably sounded worse than it was.

"You? But, why?"

"Well, why don't you take a look for yourself?" He handed her the bag he had been carrying.

"It's my uniform."

"Yes, but I had some armor added to it for some added protection. I didn't have the time or money to get you a whole new set of gear, but this retrofitted stuff should work well. I hope you don't mind."

"Of course not," She looked at the armor then the tactician, "You did all of this?"

"Well I took it to a shop. Sumia helped too; if it doesn't fit let me know, and I'll see. My expertise does not extend to clothing I'm afraid, but I did try to have it tailor to fit better."

"I'm sure that it will be fine. I suppose I should change now."

"Oh, right, of course," Robin started backing awkwardly out of the tent, "I'll, uh, be around."

Lucina took the full garb out. She was so unused to receiving anything. She liked it. Sure, he was looking out for her safety on the battlefield, but it still felt nice.

* * *

"Ah, there you are," Chrom greeted with Sumia in tow as Robin walked into the command tent, "I should have you court marshaled for making us endure whatever that was that Lucina was wearing. Oh, and the wild goose chase." Robin laughed awkwardly, "But," Chrom continued, "I should also thank you for taking care of my daughter."

"I-It was nothing."

Chrom opened his mouth to rebut when Lucina came out dawning her new armor, "Well, what do you think?"

"I like it," Chrom nodded.

"It really suits you dear."

"Really?" She was not exactly the most confident of people when it came to appearances unless her excitement overrode her reservations. Evil dragon? Armies? Bring it on. Taking a compliment? Not so much.

"Yes, what do you think Robin?" Sumia asked the tactician with a layered smile.

"I think you look great."

"See? Nothing to worry about."

"I suppose…"

"Great, so it's settled," Chrom interrupted, "You look good. Now let's go grab a bite to eat."

As they walked to the mess tent, Sumia started to run the evidence through her head. She may have been onto something after all.

* * *

With their rest and relaxation coming to an end, the Shepherds began their march to the Valmese capital. However, shortly after beginning on their way, they received a message from Tiki for them to meet her at a specific spot. It was not very far off from their current route, so the Shepherds went on their own while the main army continued on to the capital.

Once they arrived at the idealic meadow they were greeted by a very drowsy looking Tiki.

"I am glad that you came on such short notice," She managed a gentle smile.

"Of course," Chrom answered, "What do you require of us?"

"Your protection."

"Excuse me?" Chrom looked confused.

"During my rest my strength seems to have faded. I am about to attempt to regain it, however, I will be vulnerable while I do so."

"I see," The prince looked over to his tactician, "Robin?"

"We will need to form a perimeter. We'll be stretched fairly thin, but we should be able to manage."

"Thank you," The manakete nodded gratefully, "I will assist you once I awaken. Good luck." She soon closed her eyes and went into what appeared to be a deep sleep as Robin finished planning their perimeter. No sooner then she closed her eyes the Shepherds could hear the guttural cries of Risen as they prepared to kill their target.

"All right, Shepherds!" Chrom called out, "Don't let a single one past you! We _will_ hold our ground!"

The Shepherds looked at the horde with a steely determination as it came over the hill. They formed a tight perimeter around the incapacitated manakete as they prepared to hold off the mindless soldiers.

"You ready?" Robin asked Lucina as he analyzed the enemy formations, but when he did not receive a reply he looked to his partner with concern, "Lucina?"

"There's so many of them…" She said under her breath.

"Lucina!"

"Huh? Y-yes?" She replied clearly disoriented

"You alright?"

"I'm fine, it's just…I haven't seen so many Risen since…"

"It'll be fine," Robin gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "You're not alone. We'll pull through, together."

"Yes, you're right. My apologies for the inconvenience."

"Don't mention it. Now come on, we've got a job to do."

"Right"

The Risen soon came crashing against the wall that was the Shepherds. Try as they might, the Risen just could not get to their target. That is not to say that the Shepherds were not taking hits themselves. The Risen were apparently very committed to killing Tiki which just further fueled the Shepherds determination to safeguard her but being stuck in place did not make the battle easy for the Shepherds.

Fortunately, Tiki eventually opened her eyes once more, and she set them on the Risen. Transforming, she incinerated several Risen before they gave up and dissipated into smoke, their mission clearly failed.

"Thank you," She turned back into her humanoid form, "Now that I have restored my strength, I would like to join you if that is all right with you."

"We would be honored," Chrom smiled before addressing everyone, "Come, we must catch up with the army…starting tomorrow," He relented as the sun was already setting low.

Lucina was about to ask Robin if he would like to join her in the mess tent when Tiki approached the man, "Greetings, sir Robin."

"Uh, hello," He replied awkwardly, not quite used to being called "sir."

"I would like to get to know you better, if that is okay with you."

"Yeah, I suppose you would want to know who you're trusting with your life," He smiled before he noticed Lucina looking on at their conversation, "Lucina? Did you need something?"

"It was nothing important."

"You sure?" She nodded halfheartedly which Robin found suspicious but did not press her on it, "Alright then, if you're sure."

She was not. Why was she so bothered?

* * *

Lucina was sitting in the mess tent, alone, when her mother came up and sat beside her, "Problems with the food?" She asked in reference to the barely touched food on her plate.

"No, it's fine."

"Something on your mind?"

"I'm fine, mother."

"Okay, let me rephrase, is their someone on your mind."

That caught the princess' attention, "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that you keep looking over to where a certain tactician is dining with our newest member." Said duo had been chatting casually for quite a while, and Lucina had been subconsciously looking over there quite a bit.

"I do?" Why was she doing that?

"Yes, you do. Want to talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"For starters, we could talk about why it bothers you so much that he's talking to Tiki."

"I-I don't know," She looked at the two as Tiki listened intently as Robin shared one of the Shepherds' many tales.

Sumia looked on knowingly; she had a similar look once upon a time. She needed no more convincing, "You like him don't you?"

"O-of course I like him, he is a friend."

"No, I mean that you _like_ him."

"W-what? That's…" Absurd? Inappropriate? Impossible?

"Honestly, I think it's rather romantic."

"Mother, do not let your imagination get the best of you. Besides, even if I did…like him, we are from different worlds. Not to mention he is one of my father's closest advisors."

"And Chrom was the prince of Ylisse while I was just the daughter of some minor house."

"It wouldn't be appropriate."

"Why not?"

"Why not? Because he knew me as an infant! He probably still thinks of me as a child." she exclaimed in a whisper.

"I doubt that. I've seen the way he looks at you. You're special to him."

"Special can mean a lot of things."

"You'll never know if you don't try."

"I have other matters to concern myself with," She stood to leave.

"Lucina, where are you going?"

"To think," She walked off without another word.

Sumia sighed as her daughter left. She may have acted too swiftly, but she was more sure now than ever that Lucina did hold feelings for the tactician. Now getting her to realize and/or admit that might be a little tough, but Sumia hoped that she would.

* * *

Robin silently rode on as Chrom and Lissa were bickering about something of little importance. His mind was at the back of the convoy. She had seemed distracted since the night before. She even ignored his attempt at humor which she almost never got but she still usually asked about them.

He went over a somewhat odd conversation that they had shared the night before, _"Robin, what do the Shepherds think of me?"_

" _I beg your pardon."_

" _How do they perceive me? Am I any different than the baby Lucina back in Ylisstol to them?"_

" _Well, I can't speak for everyone, but I know that several of them have never even met baby Lucina."_

" _What about you?"_

" _I…think of you as Chrom's daughter, that much seems given, however, I don't think of you as the infant Lucina. The question of whether or not you are technically is better left to Miriel, but, to me, you two are different individuals. You will likely live two completely different lives. Plus…I am_ your _friend, not the child in the castle."_

"… _If you'll excuse me."_

She left without another word. Robin figured that she was having doubts about leaving, and he decided to give her some space. However, the reminder of her intention to leave did not sit well with him - more so than before. He did not want her to leave, and he kept running why that was through his mind. He told himself it was because they were just good friends; anything else would have been totally inappropriate…right?

That night Robin was determined to talk to Lucina about her intentions of leaving.

"Lucina," He greeted as she entered his tent.

"Robin," She answered plainly.

"I wanted to talk to you about our conversation last night. I think I know why you brought it up."

"You do?" She tried to hide both her nerves and her embarrassment.

"Yes, and I just want you to know that you don't have to leave."

"What?"

"I know you think that you have to leave once everything is said and done, but we could find a way for you to stay without anyone knowing where you come from."

That was what he thought was bothering her? She was touched by his words, but that did not change the matter of her interference.

"I must allow my parents to live their lives without me."

"But you already are a part of ou-their lives, and maybe they like it that way," He sighed, "Look, I know you don't want to impose, but take my word for it: Chrom doesn't take no for an answer; at least not easily. Plus…I want you to stay, too."

"You do?" She looked intently at the tactician.

"Yes, you're a good friend, and I value your company," He replied a bit more rigidly than he had intended.

"…I see. I will consider what you have said."

Robin smiled slightly, "Thank you."

She turned around just as she reached the tent flap, "I value your company as well."

* * *

With the recent string of good news such as Walhart's retreat, the Shepherds were allotted a day or two to themselves since they no longer had two armies breathing down their necks. Some visited the nearby town which seemed more than happy for the business while others stayed around camp. Robin was one of the latter, and he soon found his way to the makeshift training area where he found Chrom hacking away at the training dummies.

"I think it's had enough, Chrom."

The royal finished his attack before facing the tactician, "Robin, what brings you by?"

"I wanted to talk."

"Uh-oh, what's wrong?" He suddenly looked concerned.

"Nothing," Robin nodded reassuringly, "I just wanted to talk."

"Oh, well then, by all means," He took a chug of water, "What do you want to talk about?"

"I wanted to apologize."

"Apologize?" Chrom looked confused, "What for?"

"I haven't been a very good friend. To you, or any of the Shepherds."

"Robin," The prince smiled, "It's okay. We understand that it must be hard after everything that happened."

"I know, and I thank you for that, but I think I've moped for long enough."

"While I'm glad to hear that, are you sure?"

"Yes," Robin nodded affirmatively, "I am."

Chrom smiled, "Well then, how about we make up for lost time and spar a bit? You know, some friendly bonding."

"Uh, sure?"

"Haha, that's more like it," He gave the strategist a friendly - if not slightly rough - pat on the back, "After what I've seen you and Lucina do on the battlefield, you might actually win this time."

"I wouldn't go that far, but that does remind me: where is Lucina? I haven't seen her around today."

"Oh yeah," He replied as he pulled some practice swords from a chest, "Sumia dragged her off shopping or something."

"How are you adapting to having her around?"

"I must admit that is a bit difficult not smothering her," Chrom smiled wistfully, "She's a full grown woman, and I missed her childhood. Speaking of that, I was wondering if you could tell me something."

"I can try, go ahead."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"What?" Robin raised his brow.

"I just thought that you might know. It's not exactly something she might feel comfortable discussing with her father."

"…No, from what she has told me she has not."

"Well then," He turned his expression back into a smile, "At least I still get to torment any future suitors."

"The poor soul."

"Indeed, now," He tossed one of the wooden blades to his friend, "Let's see what you've learned!"

* * *

"And that worked?"

"Yes. Why? Is that odd?"

"I'll say! He never listened to us whenever we tried to get him to go to bed at a reasonable hour," Sumia was currently walking with Lucina through town, and their discussion had shifted to a certain tactician.

"Well, he probably found it hard to argue back since he had insisted that I get some more sleep myself earlier."

"He did?"

"Yes, though insisted might be a strong word. He noticed my fatigue and voiced his concern, but I assured him that I would be fine. In the end he simply urged me to get more sleep."

"Huh, interesting," He usually kept his opinions to himself unless asked. At least, he had recently, "Well, it's nice to see him open up a bit again."

"Again?" Lucina looked at her mother quizzically.

"Oh, did I say 'again?'"

"You did. Mother, what did you mean?"

Sumia sighed, "Robin didn't used to be so closed off. In fact, he used to be quite friendly."

"What happened?"

"Something…bad. I can't tell you any more than that. The Shepherds agreed to never talk about it, but, please, don't ask him about it. It may bring up some unpleasant memories. Just know that he has his reasons for acting the way he does."

"I…see."

In an attempt to overcome the awkwardness, Sumia quickly pointed out a small shop, "Oh, they have some cute outfits. Come on! We should expand your wardrobe."

"M-mother!" Lucina tried to get her mother's attention as she pulled her toward the shop with her surprisingly strong grip.

* * *

"That was delightful!" Lucina cheerfully told her mother as they walked back to camp.

"I'm glad that you had a good time, dear," She had enjoyed herself too, even if she found that her daughter had…interesting tastes or a lack thereof. "We should–hey, what's everybody up to over there?" She pointed to where several Shepherds had started to congregate.

"They are at the training ground. Perhaps they are watching a fight?"

"Let's go see what's going on!" Sumia eagerly ran over to where the others were gathered. Lucina followed at a slower pace smiling at her mother's exuberance.

As it turned out, everyone was gathered to watch Chrom and Robin spar which was a rare sight -Robin rarely sparred publically anymore. They were in the thick of battle with neither side gaining an advantage. Shepherds were cheering left and right while Sumia noticed Lucina watching silently.

However, every now and then, the rider noticed a slight hint of anxiousness or excitement come over Lucina. At first she chalked it up to Lucina rooting for Chrom in her own way, but Sumia started to notice something odd. Her reactions were not in time with how Chrom was doing, but with Robin.

Eventually Chrom managed to defeat the tactician, but not before they were both severely winded. Chrom offered a hand to Robin, which he accepted and the crowd started to disperse with murmurs of the impressive display they had just witnessed. All the while, Sumia decided that she would start watching her daughter a bit more closely. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but she decided to look in any case.

* * *

It was finally time. The dynasts were in position, the Feroxi were eager to avenge their Khan, and the Ylisseans were ready to finally finish this war and go home. Robin had toiled over this plan all week, and now it was time to see how it held up.

"Relax," Lucina commented as she attached her shoulder pad, "If anyone can defeat this fortress, it's you."

"Thanks," He exhaled sharply as he tried to calm himself down. Afterwards the two waited in an awkward silence; their recent realizations hindering their conversational abilities. It was not until Chrom came by that the silence was broken.

"You ready?" Chrom asked as he finished strapping the Fire Emblem to his arm.

"As I'll ever be."

"I have faith in you," He smiled before turning to address the troops. While he was sure that it was a rousing speech, Robin was more concerned with keeping them alive. Getting through the gates would not be too hard with some more of Miriel's "rigged" tomes, but once they were inside they were in for a bitter fight.

The Shepherds would be making a break for Walhart and his personal guard, and while Robin had the utmost confidence in the Shepherds and their abilities, he could not help but worry for them. They were his family, and he was determined to see them through this. All of them.

Robin did his best to clear his mind as the battle call sounded throughout the plains. It was time.

* * *

Mayhem. That was what happened once they broke through the city walls. The Shepherds fought their way to Walhart, but they met extreme resistance once they did. They were giving them a run for their money though, and Robin and Lucina were working together to devastating efficiency.

"Behind you!" Robin called as he deflected a knight's lance.

"Got it!" Lucina turned around and cut at the approaching "hero's" legs. However, she was soon swarmed by Valmese soldiers who took advantage of a momentary fault in their formation while others wedged themselves between the duo to cut them off from each other.

Robin called out as he started to push through the interference. He fought hard, but there were just too many of them. Lucina, for her part, fought hard and was holding off the tides of enemies. In fact, by the time Robin finally cleared out the meddlesome soldiers, she had seemingly finished off all of her attackers.

Robin smiled softly in relief which the princess mirrored, but that smile soon turned to a look of terror as he saw one last Valmese straggler charge for Lucina. She saw the look and turned around, but it was too late. The soldier got a clear strike to the chest and Lucina went down.

Robin yelled out as he cut down the soldier in one swift motion before turning to the bleeding princess.

"Medic!" He called as he held her, silently pleading for her to hang on. Lissa soon arrived with Lon'qu running interference. Robin watched helplessly as Lissa examined the wound; it did not look good as she was losing a lot of blood.

He should have been faster! He should have saved her! He grabbed his head as felt himself losing control. Not again! He had to focus, but…he glanced over at the fallen princess again and felt himself losing his composure. The sorrow. The regret. The pain. The anger. Then suddenly he lowered his arms and clenched his fists as he started to walk away in an eerily calm manner.

When Lissa looked up to speak with the tactician she found that he was slowly walking off with a faint energy gathering around his fists causing her to go pale.

"Oh-no."

* * *

Tiki had returned to her humanoid state for a brief respite when she felt it. It was not long until she could hear the sound of him tearing through the enemy ranks…for now. Left unchecked, however, he might start turning on his own if he ran out of targets. She had to act.

* * *

"Then let us see if your ideals are strong enough!" Walhart bellowed as he charged Chrom. The prince prepared himself for the charging conqueror, but he never arrived. In his place stood his tactician who had somehow knocked Walhart and his armored warhorse several feet away. Robin himself was different. Chrom could almost feel the rage emanating off of him. He had only ever seen this once, and it was not a welcome sight.

"Who dares!" Walhart pulled himself up; not looking too much worse for the wear. The same could not be said for his mount, however, "You would challenge me?" The only response he got was a scowl that might kill a lesser man. "You are brave, I'll admit, but–"

He did not get to finish that thought as Robin was upon him in a flash. Walhart's reflexes barely allowed him to raise his guard in time as the tactician's blade met Wolfberg. Walhart actually laughed at the action, "Yes, the time for words has passed!" No sooner than the words came out of his mouth did Robin begin a barrage of sword swings. Each swing carrying inhuman force and speed; so much so that his sword did not last long and soon shattered against the emperor's weapon.

Walhart gave a victorious smile as he drove Wolfberg toward the tactician. However, much to the surprise of all observers, Robin caught the weapon in his bare hands before ripping it out of the Conqueror's hands. With a face of pure rage, Robin grabbed onto the emperor's armor with such force that the armor bent to his grasp and picked him up.

A group of Valmese moved to intervene at that point, but Robin simply removed one of his hands and cast an eruption of flame so intense that the only thing left of the squad was molten scraps of their armor.

With the nuisance dealt with, Robin began to pour energy into his hands with Walhart's armor heating as a result. The whole time, Robin's face remained etched with anger and malice until he finally released the energy and nearly vaporized the man with his lightning.

As the empty remains of the armor fell Chrom uneasily began to approach his friend. No words were necessary, however, because Robin turned to face him almost as soon as he moved. Chrom was not easy to frighten, but the animalistic rage that was apparent on his friend's face combined with his recent display terrified him.

"Easy now," Chrom put his hands up defensively, "I'm your friend, remember?"

His answer came in the form of a fire ball flying past him followed by Robin charging the prince with magic infused fists. Chrom tried to hold him off, but he was hesitant to go on the offensive; not that he got that chance. Robin knocked him out with ease thanks to his immense jump in strength.

Robin was set to finish him beneath his foot, but he was stopped when he was suddenly grabbed in the talons of a manakete and drug across the courtyard.

"Cease this, Robin!" Came the slightly distorted voice of Tiki. Robin simply stood up and growled, not backing down.

* * *

Lucina awoke with a start which she quickly regretted after feeling the soreness in her chest. Looking around she saw that she was in the emergency medical tent.

"Good, you're awake," Lissa said as she walked over with her staff in hand, "Good thing you were wearing that armor. A little deeper and…well."

Lucina knew all too well what she meant. She tried to get up again, but Lissa forced her back down, "You need to rest. You still lost a lot of blood."

She relented and laid back down, "Where is Robin? Is he alright?"

Lissa went rigid, "He's not the one in danger."

"What do you mean?"

"After you were injured he…went berserk again. Last I heard he was tearing through the Valmese ranks heading toward Walhart."

"What! Alone!? I need to help him."

"Lucina, listen to me," Her aunt looked uncharacteristically serious, "He's different. He's strong, but he's not himself right now. He's out of control."

"All the more reason to help him."

"He's out of control, and you're in no condition to stop him by force."

Lucina forced herself up while ignoring the light-headedness, "Let me worry about that," She gave her aunt a stern look as she started to object again, "I'm going with or without your permission."

Lissa sighed and reluctantly stepped aside. She knew that Lucina had made up her mind; she just hoped that she would not get herself killed.

* * *

Tiki fired blast after blast of fire at the tactician, but he just kept coming. Several spheres of fire appeared around Robin before flying off toward the manakete at incredible speed. She managed to dodge all of them except for the last one which knocked her out of the air. Robin took advantage of her downed state and fired off a dark energy beam that reverted her to her humanoid form.

She barely retained her consciousness as she sat on her knees trying to stay up. Robin walked up to her and gave her one last look of contempt before raising his foot and punting her several feet away.

With her out the way, he turned his attention back to the prince. He started back to Chrom who remained where Robin had knocked him out. He was ready to finish him, but he was distracted by a cry. He looked almost as if he recognized her.

"Robin! Stop this!" Lucina stepped forward from the crowd of shocked soldiers. Robin looked her down and took a step to her. She approached carefully. As she got closer she noticed his eyes: they were red. On top of that, they were full of so much anger and hatred; it was nothing like what she was used to seeing in those eyes.

They eventually stopped a few feet from each other, "Robin, this is not you. Please, stop this."

Robin raised his right hand and started to charge a spell, but Lucina did not run or attempt to defend herself. She kept her eyes solely locked on Robin's. She saw pain in those eyes now; she saw desperate conflict. Just as what looked like a single tear fell from his eye, he grabbed his right hand with his left and pulled it away from Lucina as the spell fired harmlessly into the air. Afterwards he collapsed and Lucina caught him as he fell. As she held him, she tuned out the carnage of his rampage and the whisper of the soldiers for it in that moment it did not matter to her.

 **A/N: Ugh, Lyn. Hopefully Lyn won't be relegated to kimono alt.**

 **In any case, I apparently only have one more wave...somehow. Also, not many Mario Maker players reading I take it?**

 **Is anyone sold on Three Houses? I'm still on the fence.**


	17. Wave 7

After Robin's display, the Valmese quickly surrendered. While most of the army celebrated, the Shepherds were not so jubilant. Many of the new Shepherds were shocked at what had transpired, and those who had been present those years ago were uneasy about him losing control again.

Some were concerned for their tactician while others were afraid of him. He had yet to awaken, but some were afraid of what would happen should he regain consciousness. They decided against posting guards outside of his cabin on the trip home since they would not be able to do anything if he were to continue his rampage.

Lucina, for her part, had remained by the man's side for most of their voyage home. She received some resistance, mostly from Frederick, but she won them over with the logic that he had listened to her and that she might be able to calm him down if he were still in such a state when he awoke.

Honestly, she was not sure what to think of the situation. To see him in such a state was…disturbing. Apparently, none of them knew exactly why or even how he did what he did, but she did not like it. She was almost certain that he did not want to do it, and that must have been terrifying to him in its own right.

Her thoughts were plaguing her when she noticed movement from the bed in the center of the cabin. She quickly got up from her chair in the corner and approached him as his eyes started to open. To her relief, they were their usual color as opposed to that unnatural red.

"Lucina…" He spoke groggily as he sat up and took in his surroundings, "What…"

"Lie down," She gently pushed him back down.

He laid back down with a dull look, "It happened again…"

"Don't think about that right now. You need to rest."

"No, you deserve to know what happened," Lucina did not object as he began his tale.

* * *

" _Come on!" Basillio bellowed, "We need to get a move on!"_

 _The distraught Shepherds followed quietly behind. They had just suffered a great loss. They had lost their Exalt. Robin in particular was taking the loss hard._

 _He felt responsible. He promised them that he would save her, but how could he have anticipated those archers? Should he have been able to anyway? It was not fair, but that was war. He was angry. Angry at Gangrel and Aversa for their treachery, but he was also angry at himself for failing everyone. As he looked at their despairing faces his resentment just grew._

 _Then Mustafa came. He did not want to fight, but Robin did not care. Rage overtook him. War was not fair after all._

 _Chrom yelled at him, but the commander responded understandably. He had no choice but to fight; his family would pay the price for his disobedience, but Robin was numb to it all. Maybe they could have negotiated a way out, but none of the Shepherds were in a talking mood. Before Chrom even gave the order to attack, Robin charged with no heed to his usual methodical analysis. There were no orders, no commands, no tactics, just rage._

 _Robin fought without mercy. Some were finished quickly while others were killed in particularly gruesome manners. He tore through the squadron until he finally came to the enemy commander; he was no match for Robin in that state. By the time the others caught up to him he had collapsed into the mud surrounded by the carnage._

* * *

"You wanted to get to know the real me," Robin looked at the princess sternly, "Well the real me is a monster. I tried to hide away from the emotions that set me off, but then I tricked myself into believing that it would not catch up to me."

"Robin…"

"If you don't mind, perhaps I should get some rest."

She looked at him hard for several moments before relenting. As she was about to close the door she looked back at the tactician as he stared out the porthole. He looked so broken. She felt for him, but what could she do? She did not even know what was wrong with him. She did not believe he was a monster though. No, he regretted his actions too much.

* * *

Days went by with little to no word from Robin. Even once they arrived back in Ylisstol, he remained locked away in his room. Lucina took it upon herself after a day or two to bring his meals to his door personally; it provided her with some satisfaction that he was at least still…alive.

When word came that Validar wanted to meet with Chrom about one of the gemstones, Robin finally emerged from his room. He was unkempt to say the least, and he said next to nothing during the meeting to discuss their course of action while eyes kept drifting to the tactician with a mixture of curiosity, concern, and anxiety.

The trip to Plegia went in much the same manner with any attempt by Lucina to talk deflected with some excuse. He looked miserable. She was used to seeing him reserved and closed off, but this was different. She could see the pain in his eyes. He was distraught by what had happened, and she could imagine why. To finally start to recover from the last incident just to be pulled back down must have been especially devastating.

She wanted to tell him that everything would be alright, but she was not so sure herself. He posed a potential threat, but it did seem hard to set him off seeing as it only happened twice in over two years. There was no guarantee that he would have another episode, but she knew that was wishful thinking. The signs were pointing in the same direction; she just did not like what they were pointing to.

Perhaps the whole situation could be avoided by leaving him behind. It was fairly obvious that he would not willingly kill her father, but at the same time she was concerned about leaving him alone for so long. He was clearly low. She did not know how low, but she was worried nonetheless. Besides, she had no concrete evidence yet, and her leads made no mention of a rampaging tactician after all.

Through all of her rationalizing she knew one thing: they were teetering on the edge of oblivion, and she may be forced to make a decision.

* * *

A trap. It was a trap, not that anyone was surprised. They were forced to fight their way out of the Plegian castle, but they made good time. That was until they made it to their exit. Validar manipulated Robin - his own son apparently - to steal the Fire Emblem from a weakened Chrom. Validar left soon after leaving the Shepherds to regroup at a relatively lush area a few miles from the Plegian capital.

Lucina had remained secluded in her tent since making camp. It appeared that her decision was upon her. Her hope that Robin would not lose control again was shattered by the fact that Validar could seemingly control him at will.

Robin - although unwilling - was a danger to them all. When she first arrived in this time, Lucina had reserved killing the man as a last resort, and now they were at the end with little choice left. However, she was even more against the idea now then she was those years ago for there was no denying that she cared deeply for Robin, but she also had a duty to her father, Ylisse, and the world.

With these thoughts plaguing her, she set out to find the tactician. Their fate was fast approaching.

* * *

She found him sitting alone on a log watching as the sun went down. The fact that he was handling a blade made her uneasy.

"Lovely, isn't it?" He asked as she got closer.

"It is," Lucina stood next to the log and saw Robin stare at the sunset while he twirled his sword, "I did not get to witness it much in my future."

"Sorry, guess I just have to keep making things worse."

"Robin…"

He laughed ruefully, "I really just am not worth the effort, am I? On top of being a monster, I remind you of your terrible future which it looks like I helped to bring about."

"You know, I thought about doing it after my 'incident' at the mire, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I told myself that the others needed me; that I owed it to them to fix my mess," He laughed coldly again; Lucina hated that laugh, "Maybe I should have just saved everyone the trouble and slit my throat that night. Who could miss a monster like me?"

"Surely you don't believe that."

"Why not? That _is_ why you're here isn't it? You wanted to find your traitor, well here I am!" He stopped twirling the blade and clenched the hilt tightly between his hands, "Just get it over with!" His voice became softer, "Please, I don't want to be a weapon anymore."

Lucina looked hard at the man who refused to face her and then at her Falchion. He was practically begging her to do it. He seemed to want it, but then why did he refuse to look her in the eye? He once told her that things could change, that they had changed. If that was true, then maybe Robin did not have to be Validar's weapon, but if he were allowed to live and she were wrong…then it was all over. Plus, she…she wanted him to live. Either way, she had to make a choice, now.

Robin took his eyes off of his boots when he heard something land near him. He looked over to see a sheathed Falchion lying in the grass.

"No, I will not kill you."

"Why not?" He lifted his head to look at the sun once more, "If you're worried about what your father will think of you, he doesn't have to know."

She shook her head, "That's not it. You once told me that things were different this time around. You don't have to let Validar use you."

" _Let_ him use me? I never _let_ him use me! I am his weapon! A perfectly placed weapon that didn't even know what he was. But I refuse to be his puppet any longer, and if I have to cut the strings myself, then so be it."

He suddenly pointed his sword for his heart and thrust. Fortunately, Lucina was on him in an instant and wrestled the blade from his hand and tossed it aside. It was then that he finally had enough. He broke down and simply sobbed muttering incoherent bits to himself.

Lucina, not entirely sure what to do, took a seat next to him and put a hand on his shoulder causing him to look at her for the first time since their encounter began, "I-It's all my fault. E-Everything. It's my fault you had to grow up without a father! You should hate me!"

"I don't hate you, Robin," She said in the softest voice she could manage.

"Why!?"

"Because you are no monster. A monster would not feel pain like you are feeling right now. You are no weapon either; you are a person capable of making your own decisions. You never doomed the world; you still have time to change that. If fate has resigned you to being a puppet, then challenge your fate!"

"B-but what if I'm not strong enough? Then everyone will…"

"I think you sell yourself short, but even if you cannot do it alone, then perhaps we can do it together."

Robin swallowed hard, "Thank you, I-I'll try."

"And you'll succeed. I have faith in you."

He smiled slightly, but at least it was real this time, "I suppose we should get back to camp before anyone comes looking for us."

"No rush," Lucina replied, "We can stay as long as you need to."

Lucina was still concerned of course, but she felt that he would pull through. She was determined that no matter what happened, she would help him through it.

* * *

They tracked Validar to an ancient structure referred to as the "Dragon's Table." Though "tracked" may have been too strong of a word; he was not exactly trying to hide. The throngs of people headed for the eerie building were hard to miss.

The whole situation had the usually jovial Shepherds on edge. The general shift in mood was of particular concern to Lucina for two reasons. For one, it reminded her of her own time which disturbed her, but she was actually more concerned about how the atmosphere would affect Robin.

Robin had been coping fairly well. He was exceptionally cautious, but he was allowing her to get close again even if he did keep her at arm's length "for her own safety." Most of the other Shepherds were on pins and needles around him though, and such isolation from his comrades could not have helped his situation. She was also still worried whenever she left him alone. She had been spending most of her time with him both to assay her fears and to help him whenever he had another bout of self-loathing.

It was not long before they found themselves on the doorstep of the ancient spire. Aversa and Chrom traded some insults while the Shepherds took out the Deadlords one by one. Aversa was the last obstacle to fall; afterwards Chrom called for a small break before storming the Table.

"How are you holding up?" Lucina asked Robin as he stared at the ominous structure.

"Nervously"

"If you don't feel up to it, then–"

"Thank you, but I can be dangerous out here just as well. Besides, I need to do this."

"I understand. Just, please remember that you are not alone."

"I know."

* * *

The inside of the building was no more pleasant than the outside. The unnatural lighting combined with the eroded condition of the once grandiose architecture quite possibly made it even more foreboding than the exterior.

There were no armed guards waiting for them, just Validar's creepily thin form standing on the far side of the chamber, watching. Chrom was at point with Robin and Lucina not far behind. As they passed the final columns a barrier erected cutting them off from the Shepherds.

"I hope you don't mind, but I think we could use a little privacy," The dark mage eyed Lucina, "Ah, you even brought the interloper. Good, good, I can't wait to see the look on her face as she sees her nightmares come true."

"Quiet you," Chrom pointed Falchion at the foul sorcerer, "Or would you rather I silence you myself?"

"My, my, you do have quite a temper, don't you? Still, I must thank you for bringing the last thing I need to complete the ritual. A vessel."

"What are you talking about you snake?" Lucina snapped.

"He means me," Robin's face paled with the grim realization.

Validar let out a laugh, "Yes, it seems that you have finally put two and two together my dear boy. You were bred for this very purpose. That mark on the back of your hand means that you were chosen. _You_ were deemed fit to carry our master."

"Why do you bother to hide who you really are?" He snapped his finger a small orb of purple flame shot forward and burned off the tactician's glove and revealing the symbol of their greatest enemy for all to see.

Robin quickly shoved his hand into his coat, but the others had already seen it, "Don't you see boy? Now that they know what you are, they will turn on you. You have nowhere else to turn. Honestly I'm surprised that you've lasted this long."

"Shut your mouth!" Lucina stepped forward with an aggressive posture, "Robin is his own person, and I will not abandon him because of what you say he is! He is my friend, and I will fight for him."

"I must say that you are the last person that I expected to defend him, but can you honestly say that you speak for everyone?" Some of the Shepherds on the other side of the barrier did not look so certain. His closest friends held fast to their friend, but some were reasonably concerned.

"Enough of your games!" Chrom shouted as he joined his daughter in an offensive stance, "Robin is one of us, and there's nothing you can do about that."

"We shall see," The slim man teleported across the room while soldiers poured out from the lower level.

While Frederick mobilized the Shepherds, Chrom charged Validar. Lucina was eager to join the fray, but she noticed that Robin was not moving, "Robin, what's wrong?"

"I-I'm the vessel of Grima," He looked the princess in the eye, "I literally _am_ a monster."

"No, you're not," She grabbed his shoulders, "You are a man trapped by circumstance, but you do not have to be defined by them. Fight back!"

"B-but the Shepherds, I saw the way they looked."

"Forget about them; look at me. I trust you."

Robin looked into her cerulean orbs and saw no hint of deception or a single waver in her commitment. She did trust him, and if this woman - this wonderful woman - could trust him, should he not trust himself?

"Alright," He looked at her with determination, "I'll fight with every last ounce of my being."

"Good, now let's go. Father could use some help."

* * *

Validar proved no match for the combined strength of the best fighters in the Shepherds. He made one last desperate attack, but Robin survived and was helped up by Chrom. That was when it happened. Robin looked disoriented, but the father and daughter's concerns fell on seemingly deaf ears. Then it happened. Robin hit Chrom with a point-blank spell, and it did not take him long to fall after that.

Validar laughed maniacally from whatever hole he had been hiding in, and he began to taunt the survivors, "Don't you see now that your entire struggle has amounted to exactly nothing?"

"N-no! I won't allow it to end like this!" Lucina held up Falchion in defiance.

"And what exactly do you think that you can do about it? Your father is dead, and Robin is under my control. You have lost; this is your fate, and you can do nothing about it."

"I-I…"

"Don't you put any stock in this destiny hogwash," All eyes shifted to the sound of the new voice, or old voice depending on how one looked at it.

"Basilio, but I thought –"

"That I was worm food back in Valm," He let out a chuckle, "I almost was, but thanks to what you said I gained the courage to be a coward and played dead."

"Yes, yes, very fascinating," Validar responded in an annoyed tone, "Then you can die here instead. Chrom is dead, and Robin is mine to control. I have won!"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"What are you blathering about? So long as I hold the completed Fire Emblem, I am unstoppable."

"Maybe, if you actually had the real thing," Basillio let out a belly laugh, "You still don't get it? Those gemstones are fake, excluding yours of course. Switched them out myself. It was all Robin's idea actually."

"What? Impossible!"

"Why? Because your "fate" says so? Don't make me laugh! Robin outsmarted you the day he came to me with this plan before I left to fight Walhart. Makes those long nights of hiding well worth it, wouldn't you say?"

"Lies! All of it! Robin, kill them all!" No response. He turned around, "Robin?" The vile man was hit by a particularly nasty spell that the tactician had been charging for quite a while.

"Gah! This-this means nothing!" The sorcerer yelled defiantly as he clutched his burned body, "Chrom is still dead! Your fate is sealed!"

"Do you ever shut up?" Chrom pulled himself up, "Because I am really tired of hearing you rant."

"Father! You're alive, but how…"

He patted the tactician on the back, "Robin here weakened his spell just in time."

"Silence! All of you! None of it matters; I will kill you all!" With that the mad sorcerer teleported across the room while the Shepherds regrouped. All in all, it was not hard to bring down Validar with the Shepherd's combined might.

"About time," Chrom remarked as he sheathed Falchion, "I'm ready to go home; how about anyone else?"

While he got a round of agreements from the Shepherds, Robin kept his eyes locked on Validar's body as if it might leap at him at any moment.

"It's over," Lucina approached him, "It's finally over."

"Yes," Robin said slowly, "I suppose so." He tore his gaze away from his deceased father, "Thank you, for everything."

"You are welcome," She smiled as they looked into each other's eyes, however, the next words spoken did not come from either of them.

"How sickeningly sweet," A flash of light revealed an eerily familiar face, "As much as I'd hate to interrupt such a touching scene, I do have some business to attend to."

"Who are you!?" Lucina assumed a battle stance, "And why do you look like Robin?"

The figure let out a laugh that was laced with malice, "Do you really think that you're the only one who made it through that portal? I had to make sure that you didn't cause too much damage."

"N-no…"

"I see it's finally coming together," He smirked viciously, "I had to step in from time to time, but it was worth it to see that look of despair on your face."

"You!" Chrom pointed his sword at the back of the imposter's neck, "Your treachery ends today!"

"I don't think so, Chrom," He teleported out of the prince's range, "I must admit that you have all proved a bit more of a hassle than I had intended. I never imagined that my vessel would become such a problem, but that's life. It only means that _I_ will get to assume my rightful role once more!"

"No!" Robin yelled as he fired a Thoron bolt at the doppelganger who dodged it with ease.

"Hmph, it seems that you are determined to defy me," A dark aura started to surround him as he spoke, "Well, the hall is rented, the band is prepped, and the stage is set. Now let's see if you can dance!"

With one last roar the building started to shake, and Chrom gave the order to evacuate with himself and Lucina barely making out in time. Thanks to Robin's quick thinking, they had the Fire Emblem and the gemstones at least; now they just had to make it Mount Prism in one piece.

Before they left for their destination, Lucina spied Robin looking up at the behemoth's hulking figure when she heard him saying something barely above a whisper, "I'm going to make this right," He spoke up, "I promise you, Lucina, I will make this right."

Somehow, despite the odds stacked against them, those words made Lucina feel better.

* * *

With time not on their side, the Shepherds made for Mount Prism with all due haste. Robin seemed to work with a renewed dedication and fervor to stop Grima; no doubt due to his own feelings of responsibility. Lucina was glad to see at least one good thing come out of all of this even if the sight of the fell dragon in the sky once again brought back far too many scarring memories.

"Lucina!"

"Huh, what is it?" She had apparently been lost in thought again, good thing she was not alone though.

"I said that we're here," Robin pointed to the mountain towering above them, "How are you holding up."

"I'm fine."

He gave her a concerned glance, "You sure? I know this can't be easy for you."

"True," She looked off into the distance, "Knowing that that monster is out there right now is much too close to my future for my liking, but," She turned back to the tactician, "Things are different this time. We will win."

Robin just gazed at the mountain coolly and whispered to himself, "I hope you're right."

* * *

As they neared the summit Robin experienced a sudden pain in his right hand, "Gah!" He clutched his gloved hand.

"Robin!" Lucina made to support him, but he stopped her.

"No, I'm fine, but we're about to have company. Risen are on their way. A lot of them."

"We'll just have to stand and fight," Chrom declared with determination.

"No, time is of the essence. I want you to make a break for the summit while I lead some Shepherds to hold off the Risen," Robin noticed Chrom about to object, but they just did not have the time, "We don't have time to argue this, Chrom! You're going to have to trust me."

The prince held a grim look for a moment before reluctantly nodding his agreement, "Alright call the Shepherds."

The Shepherds quickly lined up with Robin standing in front of them. Chrom stood apart with Sumia and Lucina by his side looking on.

Robin stepped up to speak with one last deep breath, "A Risen horde will be upon us in a matter of minutes. While we would normally stand our ground and deal with them, we are pressed for time. Therefore, I will personally lead the bulk of the Shepherds to hold them off while Chrom takes a small group to the summit." Robin could tell that they were not happy with the plan, but Robin already knew that the problem was not with the plan; it was with him. Robin saw the glances he got from the crowd as soon as he mentioned that he would be leading mission. Uncertainty, distrust, caution... He let out a deep breath, "I know that many of you are suspicious of me. Some of you may think that I should be taken back to Ylisstol in chains. I can't say I blame you. In your boots I would probably be hesitant to trust me too, but I'm asking you to trust me one more time. I know that it's a lot to ask. I know that recent revelations about my heritage likely disturb some of you; well, it disturbs me too, but I refuse to let that stop me. I _will_ stay and fight. I will give everything I've got to fix this. I just ask that you lend me your strength."

At first the Shepherds remained still as they looked at each other. It was Stahl and Cordelia who made the first move, "Count us in."

It was a cascade effect with Shepherd after Shepherd asserting their trust in him. It did him good to see that Validar was wrong. _This_ was his home.

"Thank you, truly," Robin smiled before getting back to the business at hand, "Now, Lucina, Sumia, Lissa, and Frederick, I want you to accompany Chrom. Everyone else will assume a standard defensive line. Remember, no heroes. The goal is to hold them back."

As everyone cleared out, Lucina approached Robin, "Robin, I was hoping to speak with you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"I was hoping to request a transfer to your unit."

"I appreciate the support, but I want you with Chrom. There might be an ambush for all we know, and he'll need support. Besides, if anyone deserves to see the awakening, it's you."

"Very well," She relented after a moment, "If you think that is best." She was about to say something else when she noticed him smiling, "What is so amusing?"

"I was just thinking about the young woman who I had to threaten with being sidelined in order to keep her from flying off to her father's side. Now you've requested being transferred away from him." Robin noticed a slight change in her face's tint at his remark, "You two aren't fighting, are you?"

"N-No, we've been getting along nicely."

"Huh, well in any case you should probably get moving."

"Just promise me that you'll be okay."

"Lucina, I–" He looked into her eyes and sighed, "I'll be fine. Now go."

She nodded her agreement and walked off to join her father. He hoped that she would be okay too. They had grown closer over the past few days, and now that he was recovering, and his thoughts had cleared somewhat, he had come to the realization that his feelings had grown stronger as well.

He shook his head, he had more pressing concerns at the moment.

* * *

"Shepherds! Hold together!" The Shepherds were fighting valiantly, but the Risen were coming in droves. Robin refused to give up though, and the Shepherds followed his lead. However, despite their determination, the Shepherds were being forced back inch by inch, but they knew that it did not matter. No, they just had to buy Chrom enough time to perform the Awakening.

Just as Robin was about to order another retreat, he saw a flash of light come from the summit followed by the Risen evaporating into their unnatural mist. The Shepherds breathed easily in relief as they put away their weapons. It was not long before Chrom's group met them joined by Tiki who had apparently recovered from her run in with Robin and flown over to meet them.

"I take it everything went well," Robin approached them.

"Yes," Chrom brandished the now glowing Falchion, "With this we can end Grima's reign before it begins.

"That's good. I take it you also had something to do with that flash."

"Naga dispelled that magic that allowed them to breech the grounds," Chrom explained.

"We should prepare to march as soon as possible," Robin returned to business.

"Agreed"

As they were walking back down the mountain, Robin noticed that Lucina appeared distracted.

"Something wrong?"

"Hmm, I am just thinking about the coming battle."

"We'll be fine. I promise you that we won't let Grima win."

"I know," She tried to put on a smile, "I suppose I just worry too much."

Robin smiled at her comment. Lucina had told the truth, or, at least, she had told part of it. She was concerned over the coming battle, but she was also troubled over what Naga and Tiki had shared. They had revealed Robin's true relationship with Grima, and they also said that only Grima's power could truly kill him at this point in time. Robin also just so happened to be able to access that power; the problem was that Grima had somehow linked with Robin. In other words, if Grima dies, Robin could very well die as well.

That is why they did not tell him; Lucina knew he would likely do it anyway. Chrom agreed and ordered Frederick not to say anything while Sumia and Lissa gave their word not to tell him. They swore to keep it a secret so that he would not throw his life away, but was it worth it? Her mind said no, but her heart said yes.

* * *

With their work on Mount Prism done, the Shepherds made haste to Origin Point where Grima had decided to recuperate. So far, the land had yet to suffer much under the fell dragon's wrath, but that would all change once Grima began to move. However, each member of the Shepherds was determined to stop the abomination before that happened. Beneath their usual jovial selves was a steely determination. They _would_ be victorious.

They made their point incessantly clear when a loyal detachment of Grimleal attempted to stop them. Robin had never seen the Shepherds fight so hard; each and every one of them knew what was on the line and were willing to fight to the bitter end.

They were given a few hours to rest before they confronted Grima after repelling the Grimleal. Robin was wondering around camp unsure of what to do since he had no idea what to expect once they reached Grima so there was not much he could do as a tactician. He was a bit surprised when Tiki came to find him.

"Robin, might I have a word."

"Er, of course, but first I would like to apologize for what I did to you."

She smiled gently, "It was not your fault. In fact, I would like to talk to you concerning your relationship to Grima."

"Oh," Robin was rather uncomfortable about that.

"I understand that you believe yourself to be Grima's vessel."

Robin nodded uncomfortably, "Yes, that is what they said."

"While you can be used for that purpose, your actual role is something a bit different."

"What?"

"Do you remember when we first met, and I mentioned how that you had a power like mine?"

"Yeah," Robin was starting to get an idea of where she was going with this.

"Grima mirrors the way in which Naga functions. You essentially hold the same role with Grima as I do with Naga."

"And what would that be exactly?"

"You are a bit of a special case though," She seemingly ignored his question, "Grima has broken the rules and somehow linked itself to you after learning that it could use you to break its imprisonment, but I wanted you to know that you are in fact two separate individuals. I believe that your 'episodes' were the result of you unwittingly accessing a portion of Grima's power without being able to control it; understandable considering you had never been trained in its use. At least not that you remember. It is possible that Grima seized that as an opportunity to turn you toward destruction, but it is impossible to tell if the fell dragon was directly involved or not."

"I see…thank you."

"Grima will no doubt try to make you second guess yourself; you must not afford the monster that opportunity."

"I won't," Robin nodded sternly, "I'm done being a puppet."

"That is good to hear. Now if you will excuse me, I must go rest for the coming struggle."

"Of course."

* * *

Lucina found Robin alone on a hilltop staring at the veil of ash obscuring the fell dragon's gargantuan form.

"Hello Robin," She greeted from a respectful distance.

"Lucina," He turned around to face her, "How are you holding up?"

"Fine considering the circumstances. How about you?"

Robin smiled ruefully, "It's been a rough few weeks, but you've gotten me through it. Thank you."

She blushed ever so slightly, "If you insist."

"I mean it," He looked at her intently before looking away awkwardly.

Lucina spoke up next, "Any plans for once this is all over?"

He looked back to her, "Not really. Hopefully there won't be any need of my services for quite some time. Maybe Chrom won't kick me out of the castle for being a freeloader."

Lucina looked at the tactician with shock, "Surely he wouldn't do that! There must be plenty of things you could do. Maybe I should talk with him."

"Lucina, relax. It was just a joke."

"Oh," Was all Lucina said in embarrassment.

"You still need to work on that," He smiled.

"Perhaps..."

Another brief period of silence followed, "Lucina," Robin started slowly and carefully, "I've been wondering if you might change your mind about leaving."

"Robin, we've talked about this."

"I know, but I think we could make it work. If you don't want to impose on the royal family, then we could always get you a job there."

"I appreciate the effort Robin, but I don't belong there."

"Why not? Lucina, you're already a part of our lives whether you like it or not. To leave now would just hurt everyone involved."

"Robin–"

"Please, just…think it over," She could see the sincerity in his eyes. He was not working in the interest of others. No, he wanted her to stay himself.

"Okay, I'll think it over."

"Thank you, I–" Robin was interrupted by the call to arms. It was time to face Grima. It was time to end this.

In a flash of light, the Shepherds found themselves on top of the fell dragon. The wind howled violently as they steadied themselves while Grima mocked them from the dragon's neck and weak point.

"How nice of you to make it," Grima's voice carried with an unnatural efficiency.

"Silence!" Chrom yelled over the wind, "We have come to end you. Your reign of terror ends here!"

"Is that so? Then by all means…attack!" The dragon waved its hand forward unleashing a wave of dark energy that swept through the Shepherds as if they were not even there.

"Ugh," Chrom groaned while he looked back to see that no Shepherd remained on their feet.

"Such a shame," Grima was now right in front of them, "Such passion and fervor, wasted on such a hopeless endeavor."

"We're…not dead…yet," Robin wheezed as he pulled himself up to his knee.

"Details," Grima walked up the weakened tactician, "Do you see now, Robin? Do you see how weak, how pathetic these people are?"

"They…are stronger…than you will ever be!"

Grima's light and pleasant veneer turned into a sneer, "Such impudence. Perhaps you will be more agreeable without your little pets around," With a snap of the fingers a dark portal opened beneath Robin and released black tendrils which pulled him under into the abyss.

* * *

Darkness, darkness everywhere. Robin could see nothing in the abyss, but he did notice that he could at least stand so there was that.

"Now that we're alone," Robin quickly rounded to see Grima smiling cordially at him, "Perhaps you would like to rethink your stance."

"Never," Robin said defiantly.

Grima sighed, "Must you be so stubborn? They have lost! Why can't you get that through your thick skull!?"

"Why are you so determined to turn me? You have your body, what do you need me for?"

Grima laughed, "I don't _need_ you. You are a puppet; a tool to be used. Nothing more."

"No, I'm not. Tiki told me the truth. I am not your vessel."

"Hmm, those wenches. Of course they would tell you that," Grima sighed again, "Vessel or no, you are still vastly inferior to me," Grima stretched out a hand causing the tendrils to dart from the floor and take ahold of Robin's ankles and wrists which pulled him to the inky black floor, "I'll just have to make you see things my way. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some pests to rid myself of."

"No!" Robin yelled through gritted teeth as he resisted the pull into the inky abyss. He could not lose; not now!

* * *

The Shepherds stared at where their tactician had been but moments before with a mixture of shock and despair. Grima stood back at its original position seemingly content to watch the Shepherd's resolve slowly wither away.

Chrom looked back and saw the Shepherds, and he could see them losing the will to fight. Formally determined eyes now held nothing but defeat and despair. Even his daughter's usually strong and determined eyes were filled with hopelessness as she stared blankly at where Robin had been.

Chrom gritted his teeth. He refused to lose like this! Summoning every ounce of strength in his body he stabbed Falchion into the scales of the fell dragon and pulled himself to his feet.

"Grima!"

Grima appeared but a few feet away from the prince, "You just don't know when to quit, do you? Look around you! See what all of your struggling has gotten you! Your tactician is gone, your allies lie battered and broken, and you stand alone without even your closest family and friends by your side. You. Have. Lost!"

"No…" Sumia dragged herself to her husband's side and propped herself on her lance, "He's not alone…"

"It hardly makes a difference."

"I…wouldn't…be so sure…" Chrom breathed as he stood as tall as he could manage, "We may be down, but we will not give up. That goes for _all_ of us."

"What are you blathering about?" Grima did not want to admit it, but the dragon could see the will to fight returning to the Shepherds' eyes as they started to pull themselves up and rally around their leader.

"You may have knocked us down, but we will get back up. They will stand to the last. As for Robin, I guarantee that he is fighting you to the last, and we would not be very good friends if we didn't do the same, would we? You hear me, Robin! You'd better not be giving up!"

Grima laughed, "You actually think that he has a chance? He's just as doomed as you are. I will make him watch as I slaughter each and every one of you until he breaks!"

"No…" Lucina joined her parents, "He's stronger than you think. He will fight you and win, and if he can do that then surely I can keep fighting."

"If you insist," Grima charged.

* * *

Robin kept trying to get up, but he was still being pulled down. His hands had already disappeared beneath the abyss, and he was starting to tire.

"Why don't you just save your strength and surrender?" Grima paced around him like a vulture circling a wounded animal.

"N-never…I…will…fight you…to the end!"

"Alright, suite yourself, but I assure you it will be just as frivolous as the rest of your struggles. In fact–" Grima was interrupted by the sound of a voice. It sounded familiar…

"Chrom!"

"I see the prince is still as stubborn as ever," Grima groaned, "Don't worry, he'll fall soon enough just as the others did; including that meddlesome princess."

Robin clenched his teeth harder at the mention of Lucina, "I…wouldn't…count them out…just yet. They're a persistent bunch," About that time Sumia's words of support followed by the Shepherds' rallying behind their leader causing Robin to laugh, "See, I told you. Guess, I should step up my game to match."

"They will perish," Robin could feel the pull increasing, "And you will watch." Robin tried to resist, but his wrists were now covered, "You are nothing! You may not be my vessel, but you are still weak, and I will not have you defy me!"

 _"…If fate has resigned you to being a puppet, then challenge your fate!"_

Robin looked Grima square in the eye with renewed determination, "You have no hold over me anymore, Grima," He ripped his right hand free and repeated the process for his left before standing tall as he stepped out of the murky abyss, "I choose my own destiny."

* * *

Grima's charge was halted by a light barrier blocking his path, "Awakener, Grima's concentration has faltered, but I will not be able to help you again until the fell dragon is defeated. Now, go forth and seize victory."

The Shepherds could feel their strength returning as a soft glow encompassed them. As the glow dissipated, they were greeted by the sight of their tactician standing before them once more, but something was different. He was slightly translucent as if he was not entirely there.

"Robin!" Lucina greeted him happily, "You made it!"

"It's good to see you well, my friend," Chrom greeted less eagerly, "But, uh, why are you…not all there?"

"Hmm?" Robin looked down, "Oh, yes, it is because I am still within Grima's mental realm. I was not sure if I could get back if I left entirely."

"Get back? Why would you want to go back?"

"Because you don't stand a chance if I don't," He received some confused glances which prompted him to explain, "If I can distract Grima from in there, then maybe it won't be able to pull off any more attacks like the one that nearly took us all out in one fell swoop. Plus, you've seen how fast Grima can move. Maybe I can slow it down too."

Chrom mulled it over, "Alright, do what you have to do."

"Father! You seriously want him to go back in there?" Lucina had seen firsthand the emotional stress that Robin had been under.

"I don't like it either, but I honestly doubt I could stop him or change his mind. Besides, he makes a good point."

"But–"

"Lucina," Robin called gently, "It will be okay. I have no intention of letting him break me."

"I know, it's just that I…care about what happens to you."

"All the more reason for me to come back in one piece," He smiled, "Tell you what, I'll promise to stay alive so long as you promise to do the same. Agreed?"

"Agreed," She nodded reluctantly.

"Good," Robin started to fade back to face Grima.

"Before you go," Chrom spoke up, "Any last master strategies for us?" Chrom referenced the crowd of Risen currently trying to break through Naga's barrier.

Robin gave one last smirk before he fully faded, "Lay it on."

Chrom smirked back, "Can do."

* * *

"You must be dumber than I thought," Robin could hear Grima's voice echo around him, "It is arrogant enough to believe that you can beat me out there, but to think that you can best me in here is simply asking for a painful end."

"Maybe, but I have to try," Robin scanned the area for any sign of the dragon.

"I suppose you won't listen to reason and join me."

"The latter would be correct."

"Perhaps you would find another angle more enticing then. I noticed that you seemed rather attached to that princess. Shame that you'll never be able to be with her."

"What are you getting at?"

Grima suddenly appeared as Robin finally caught sight of his opponent, "If you join me, then everything keeping you apart can just…disappear. You can show her wonders the likes of which she has never seen."

"Before or after you burn them to the ground?"

"She may resent you for a while, but she'll come around eventually. She could be yours, just say the word."

"You're insane."

"Think about it…it may be your only chance to be with her."

"Maybe, but that isn't the way I want to be with her."

"You really shouldn't be so stubborn; not when you could save the one you love from certain death."

Robin silenced the dragon in human form with a punch to the face. Grima wiped its mouth with its sleeve, "So that's how it's going to be."

* * *

The sound of maniacal laughter rang out across the dragon's back, "So you've finally made it. Since you're so insistent on dying, I will be happy to oblige," Grima snarled at the father and daughter who had fought their way through the hordes of Risen to get there.

"I don't think so, monster," Chrom prepared for battle, "I'm here to end you."

Grima let out another round of laughter, "You cannot end me! Just ask your daughter here. She knows that I am unstoppable."

"I may have believed that once, but not anymore. I will not allow you to destroy anymore," Lucina readied herself as well.

"You can try," Grima produced a sword from the coat that was corrupted by fell power, "Engarde!"

* * *

"Gah!" Robin cried as he was flung across the featureless battleground. Grima was upon him in an instant and kicked him in the abdomen as the tactician tried to recover.

"Do you see?" Grima kicked again, "Do you see just how worthless you are!?" Grima accentuated each statement with a few more blows. "You are pathetic!" A kick, "Worthless," Another kick, "You are my inferior in every way!" The last kick knocked the man several feet away, "When will you get it? I've won!"

"T-then…why," Robin feebly pulled himself up, "Why…are you…so afraid?"

"Me? Afraid?" Grima laughed cruelly.

"Yes…I wasn't sure at first, but…it's definitely fear. You're…afraid."

"Do you really think I fear that simpleton prince just because his sword glows now? Even if he were to strike me down, that will just give me more time to plan my revenge!"

"No, not Chrom…me," Robin looked Grima straight in the eye, " _I'm_ the one that you're afraid of."

" _You?_ Why would I be afraid of you?"

"Because," Robin hobbled closer to the fell dragon, "I can access the same power as you, and that terrifies you for some reason."

Grima snarled and moved to assault the tactician again, but Robin beat Grima to it and delivered a solid punch to the dragon's jaw that actually knocked the creature back, "I'll kill you!"

"No you won't," Robin stood straight as he stared down his enemy.

"What are you blathering about?" Grima growled.

"If you could have, you would have killed me already. You _can't_ kill me, can you? That's why you were so adamant that I join you. You can kill almost anyone you want, but not me. No, I'm not a vessel, I'm a failsafe. I'm right aren't I? Tiki mentioned rules, and that's one of them isn't it?"

"I've broken rules before."

"But not this one," Robin sent a torrent of flame toward the dragon and watched as the robe burned away. Once the fire had ceased, all that remained was a black form, however, it seemed that Grima was not finished yet as the figure stood tall. It had no visible skin or hair; no, all Robin saw was black scales from head to toe. That was, until it opened its eyes - all six of them. Each eye glowed an unnatural red.

"I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO KILL YOU, BUT I CAN MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE DEAD!"

* * *

Chrom and Lucina fought hard, and it looked like they were actually wearing the dragon down. However, Grima soon let out a roar of rage and discarded the blade. The fell dragon's true head turned its six eyed gaze on the duo and flickers of purple flame could be seen escaping its maw.

It targeted the two and then released a torrent of dark flame. They narrowly avoided being burned alive by barreling out of the way just in time. The dragon roared in rage at having missed and started to charge up another blast.

"We need to split up; divide its focus," Chrom breathed and Lucina nodded her agreement. The two charged, but the dragon kept its focus on Chrom which allowed Lucina relatively easy access to Grima's weak spot.

Grima was in no mood for idle chatter anymore it seemed as the possessed body started charging dark magic without so much as a word. Lucina prepared herself. She may not be able to seal Grima away, but she might be able to dispatch the opponent before her. With one last breath, she charged forward.

* * *

Robin was getting soundly crushed. Robin was knocked to ground several times, but he kept getting up. Grima delivered a knee to Robin's gut which knocked him down once more, and once more he struggled back to his feet.

"I WILL KILL ALL OF THEM! CHROM, THOSE SHEPHERDS, AND ESPECIALLY THAT MEDDLESOME PRINCESS; I WILL KILL THEM ALL! THE PRINCESS' DEATH WILL BE PARTICULARLY SLOW AND PAINFUL. I WILL BREAK HER! ONLY THEN WILL I GRANT HER DEATH."

"No!" Robin shot a bolt of lightning at the monster, "I'll kill you before I let happen."

"TO DO THAT YOU WOULD NEED TO USE MY POWER, AND WE BOTH KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST TIME YOU DID THAT."

"I can do it," Robin snarled, "I can control it."

"EVEN IF YOU COULD, WE ARE LINKED, ROBIN. KILLING ME WILL KILL YOU TOO."

"Then so be it!" The symbol on the back of Robin's hand began to glow as it burned off his glove. Grima actually looked somewhat worried as Robin raised his hand, and it charged with one last roar as purple energy began to shoot forth from Robin's hand.

* * *

Lucina had gained the upper hand and was about to dispatch the Grima-possessed body when it suddenly clenched up which was accompanied by what sounded like the dragon's death throes. She looked to her father who she had suspected had delivered the finishing blow to the dragon's weakest point, but to her surprise, he had yet to plunge Falchion into the dragon's foul flesh.

The dragon began to shake as it began its final descent and the Risen disappeared into puffs of smoke, "Awakener, it is time to depart."

"Can't say I disagree," Chrom called as he attempted to maintain his footing.

A flash of light later, and the Shepherds were standing on the side of Origin Peak. Aside from some flesh wounds and some slight disorientation, they all seemed fine and accounted for - all except for one.

Lucina was the last to give up the search, and only then because Chrom intervened. They knew what had happened. He had found out how to kill Grima somehow and did it.

Lucina drifted from where the Shepherds were congregating and just stared at the sunset. He was gone. She always knew that the possibility had existed, but now it just felt so real.

"You promised…"

* * *

"Ngh," Robin opened his eyes slowly to reveal that he was still in a void, however, it seemed to be lacking the malicious presence that it had but moments before. The tactician pulled himself up carefully.

"Fell blood," Robin turned to see none other than who he presumed to be Naga.

"Naga, mind telling me what happened?"

"You killed Grima."

"Alright, then why am I not dead?"

"You almost were. The curse that bound you to Grima was very intricate, but you managed to hold out long enough for me to remove it. Now, however, you are presented with a choice. Your position does indeed allow you to kill whoever holds the fell power in case that they ever got out of control, but it also means that you are to take the mantle yourself afterwards."

"What?"

"The fell and divine dragons are not gods. No, we simply possess incredibly potent magics on both sides of the spectrum. Neither are inherently good or evil. Since you have acted out your role and destroyed Grima, the position now falls to you. However, I must warn you that you would be accountable to the same pact as Grima; we are to maintain limited contact with the outside world."

"I wouldn't be able to see my friends…"

"That is correct. However, there is another possibility. You could destroy the fell power, and with it all responsibilities of holding it. You should realize though, that once it is destroyed, there is no recovering it; it will be gone forever. Remember that it is not evil; you can do good with it, but the choice is yours to make."

"I choose–"

* * *

When Robin regained consciousness, he felt something hard underneath him. Rocks? Yes, Rocks. He was in a rocky place. At least it was not the void in any case. He knew that he should open his eyes, but he had a splitting headache and was ridiculously tired.

He did not get to lounge around for long though as he soon heard a voice, "Heh, there are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know." Robin open his eyes just barely to see a familiar prince staring down at him with Sumia restraining a giggle behind him. He reached his hand out which the tactician accepted.

"Next dragon," Robin weakly started, "Is all yours."

Chrom laughed heartily as he and Sumia started to help him back.

* * *

Lucina was still standing at the cliff watching the sunset when she heard her father call out, "Look who we found lazing around." Lucina turned around to see Robin being supported by her parents as they set him down on a nearby rock.

"Robin! You're okay!" She hurried over to them.

"Yeah, except for this splitting headache, I seem to be fine," The two smiled at each other for a while.

"Come on, dear," Sumia started to pull Chrom away, "I think we should give them some privacy."

"Huh, why?" He looked at Robin, then at Lucina, and then at both of them as it finally started to click in his mind, "Wait, what!?"

"Come on," Sumia continued to pull him away.

"But…" Chrom could be heard muttering as he was pulled away.

"Well," Robin started while the two shared a blush, "That was awkward."

"Yes," Lucina agreed before looking at him intently, "Robin, there is something I want to tell you."

"Sure"

"When I thought that you were gone…I realized that I don't want to leave. I also…" She breathed deep to calm her nerves. She did not know how he would react, but she wanted to get it off of her chest, "I -I'm sorry, I'm not very good at this."

"It's fine," Robin reassured, "If you don't want to tell me, then you don't have to."

It was now or never Lucina inhaled, "I love you."

"Excuse me?" Robin took several seconds to register exactly what she had said.

"You must think me ridiculous," Lucina went on quickly, not giving herself a chance to second guess herself, "At first I wasn't sure, but I became increasingly sure as time passed. When I thought that you were dead, I-I was devastated. I know you probably don't feel the same way, but I wanted to tell you. I hope we can still be friends."

She refused to look at Robin as he processed everything that she had just told him. It was more than he had ever allowed himself to hope for, but it still took him a while to come up with a response. Unfortunately, Lucina was growing increasingly unnerved by his silence until she eventually snuck a peak at the tactician to see that he was smiling.

Lucina being Lucina took that as a bad sign, "You think I'm pathetic, don't you?"

"What?" His smile suddenly turned into slight panic in the fear that he had offended her, "No! If I thought you were pathetic, I'd have to think I was pathetic too."

"What?"

"Let me put it this way," Robin pushed himself up while having to catch himself upon getting a little light-headed.

"You should rest," Lucina helped him keep his balance.

"Nope, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right," He finally found his balance and Lucina stepped back.

"Lucina, you are dear to me. You are a dear friend, my first in a long time, but you are more - much more. I tried to ignore it, but I have fallen head over heels for you."

"Truly? You're not just saying that for my account, are you?" Lucina had a hard time believing that he returned her feelings.

"I promise," He pulled her into a tight hug. Robin looked out over the horizon as his love embraced him back. He did not know how long they simply held each other, but he did know one thing: he loved her with all his heart. As cliché as that may have sounded, it was the truth. He did not know what their future would hold, or how they would pass her off in Ylisstol, but he did know that they would face whatever came together.

 **Alternative Ending:**

"I choose…to bear the burden laid out for me. To protect those I care about from afar."

"Very well."

So began Robin's life as the holder of the fell power. He was given some leeway in attending to everything that needed his attention. He apparently had about a century to establish his own failsafe as Naga figured that he could use some time to adjust. That was good since his mind was elsewhere.

The Shepherds traveled to Ylisstol, but the celebration was weighted by the loss of a comrade. Lucina barely said a word despite her parent's best attempts to cheer her up. A feast was waiting for them in the capital, and they put on a happy face as was expected of them. However, they did not feel much like celebrating.

The private celebration for the Shepherds was filled with more sorrow than celebration. They gave speeches about their time with the tactician. How he was a friend, even if he did not know it. How that he cared for them. How that they wished that he was there with them.

One dark night while Ylisse was still celebrating, Lucina snuck out of the castle and departed for parts unknown - unknown to most at least. She set out to find her friends as she stated in her note for her parents which was true, but it was not her only reason. She wanted to find Robin. She knew there was a chance he survived, and she was determined to find him.

So she began her journey with limited success. She heard rumors that matched their description - a bubbly Pegasus knight here, a mysterious wyvern rider there - but she never found them. She had less luck with finding Robin.

Eventually she returned to Ylisse in time for Lucy's - the public never knew why the royal family changed her name - coronation. She remained anonymous in the throngs of people of course, and she vanished as soon as it ended. That was the last time she saw her father.

She ended up in a remote village in eastern Ylisse earning a living by mending the villager's tattered clothes - mending clothes had become a necessary skill on her travels. She stayed there as time ran its course.

Little did she know that throughout all the years she searched for Robin, he had rarely been far from her. He kept an eye on her; kept her safe. Like the night she was traveling along a secluded road and a group of bandits prepared to attack her while she sat alone. Needless to say, those bandits never harmed anyone again. Robin had to be careful though. He always kept his distance. Like at Lucy's coronation how he blended into the crowds as just another face.

The years were hard for the strategist. He would check in on old friends from time to time. He was happy to see that most led good lives, however, with each visit one thing became increasingly painful to see. He saw them growing older. A few gray hairs and wrinkles soon gave way to more and more until his friends were old men and women.

He had actually attended Chrom's funeral from the shadows. The stress of leading a nation had finally caught up to him. Sumia walked beside the casket weeping as her grandson held her hand. Lucy walked behind it with a somber look as the pain of losing her father had to come after her duty to remain strong for her people.

That ceremony hit him especially hard for it reminded him that he would outlive all of his friends with few exceptions. While they aged and withered he remained young and strong. He would age and – eventually - die, certainly, but not before all of his human friends were long gone.

Then one day the thing he had been dreading for so long finally happened: Lucina was dying. The local doctor had given up hope; her time had come it seemed, and, despite his years of keeping his distance, Robin could no longer stay away. She was asleep - she spent most of her time sleeping now - when he entered her run-down shack.

She was no longer the young beauty that he had fallen in love with all those years ago, but he found that his love was stronger than ever before as he looked down at her weathered face. He was wracked with regret. Regret at all of the lost years - years that they could have spent together. He doubted that she could ever love him before, but after having seen her struggle to find him over the years, he was certain: she loved him back.

She never married, and there was no shortage of young men who tried to win her fancy. Yet she kept on moving, hoping that he would be over the next hill, or in the next village when in truth, he was always just out of reach, and he hated himself for that. The others, they eventually moved on, but she never did.

He was about to leave when she started to stir. He almost teleported out, but then he thought about it and decided that he would break the rules one last time.

She weakly looked up at the man who looked to be in his early twenties and saw a face that she had not seen in many years, "Robin?" She reached out her hand which he took.

"Yes, I'm here."

"I never gave up on you," She smiled, "I knew you would return."

"I know" He held back the tears as she drifted out of consciousness again. That was the last time she ever woke up. Robin knew; he knew because he stayed with her until the end.

 **A/N: With this finally wrapped up, I'm announcing that I might write for other franchises here for a while. I'm largely just not very enthusiastic about it right now. The series as a whole doesn't have that much appeal to me going forward or backward, and the community, well, I recommend staying away (ironically I like the Lucina subreddit worse than the two main ones).**

 **I'm not saying I'll never come back, and Awakening is still one of my favorite games and this is my favorite pairing, but maybe a break is in order. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like I'll finish the Chrom and Sumia story anytime soon. Perhaps I should work on that Smash story. Though I also have ideas for a Zelda story and a Mega Man X story. If you'd be interested, be sure to let me know.**

 **I'm still available to chat if you want to get in contact. Thank you for taking the time to read this.**


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